Being Grownup
by EnaKurohoshi
Summary: -Final Chapter is UP!-...isn't half as fun as growing up. Rikku knows that better than anyone and hopes she never has to, but what happens when the one person she cares about most wants her to do exactly that?
1. So Many Tears

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Being Grownup…

Hello there! I'm back again, with a new fanfic. This one shall be all about Rikku. I suggest that you read my previous fanfic before you read this one if you haven't already. This one's kind of like a spin-off from Rikku's POV. The first one is called _The End, With You_ and this one probably won't make much sense unless you read that one first. There will be a little repetition from the first one, but it's just so this one will make more sense. But, I guess it's really up to you. ^.^

A/N - I hate the Ataris… but it was an appropriate title, so whaddaya gonna do?

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Ch. 1_So Many Tears_

"Yippee!" Rikku hopped up and down.

They were on their way to see Gippal, Baralai, and Nooj in Luca. Rikku, happy of course to see Gippal, even though it had only been a few days since last she'd seen him.

"Would you please take a sedative?" Paine shot a glare in Rikku's direction and drummed her fingers on the bar.

"Oh, you big meanie. Can't you just be excited once in your life?" Rikku pouted, "I'm just happy."

"I don't see why you give that jerk Gippal the time of day. He's just like every other guy on the planet," Paine rolled her ruby eyes.

"What have you got against Gippal anyway? He's cool," Rikku put her hands on her hips.

"He's arrogant is more like it," Paine shot back.

"What about Baralai? Is he like every other guy?" Rikku teased.

Paine glared, "Yes…"

Rikku's lips curled up into a sly grin, "Sure, okay. Just keep telling yourself that. Whatever it takes to make you feel better about being in _looove_."

"In love my ass," Paine rolled her eyes, "I could care less about Baralai or any other guy for that matter and I suggest _you_ shut up about it. Respect points, remember?"

Rikku giggled nervously, "Respect points… right."

"Fa yna raaaaaaaaana!" Brother yelled over the intercom.

((We are heeeeeeeeere!))

"Oh, goody!" Rikku bounded to the exit of the airship, waiting for it to open.

She was met by Brother, who held a stern expression, hands on hips, "Rikku! Mayja dryd Gippal ycuha. Ra ec dnuipma."

((Rikku! Leave that Gippal alone. He is trouble.))

"Ur, tuh'd pa cemmo," Rikku rolled her eyes and exited the Celsius.

((Oh, don't be silly.))

Paine and Rikku entered the room where Baralai, Nooj, and Gippal were all sitting around, drinking and reminiscing. Gippal looked up from his mug.

"Hey Paine!" he smiled and raised the mug at her. Rikku's cheeks grew hot with jealousy.

"Hello, you two," Baralai stood and led them to the table, pulling out their chairs for them.

Nooj nodded in each girls direction, "Nice to see the two of you again."

"Good to see you too," Paine nodded back.

"So, what's up? How was the party?" Rikku grinned in Gippal's direction.

"It was a blast! There was this girl there, I swear, she looked just like you Paine," Gippal again pointed his attention toward the ruby eyed warrior, making Rikku grit her teeth.

"I highly doubt that," Paine said plainly.

"She really did, though," Baralai backed his friend up, "It was uncanny. She was really beautiful."

Paine felt a blush creep to her cheeks, "Then she must not have looked a thing like me," she said with anger in her voice.

Gippal's laughter echoed through the room, "Cynical Paine, you know you haven't changed a bit since the Crimson Squad."

She raised one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at him, "And neither have you."

Nooj laughed this time, "It doesn't look like any of us have changed."

"You seem to have," Baralai pointed out, "I don't remember you ever laughing back then."

"True. You've got me there," Nooj took a sip from his mug.

Rikku was growing uncomfortable here with these old friends. The only people she really knew were Paine and Gippal.

_And lets face it,_ she thought, _I'm not on great terms with either one of them._

"Umm… so, where's the grub?" she asked, drumming her fingers on the table.

"Looks like Cid's girl hasn't changed any either. Still thinking with her stomach," he said, thrusting a thumb behind him towards the kitchen, "It's back there."

Rikku stood up angrily, almost knocking the chair backwards in her frustration. She stomped into the kitchen and pounded a fist into the wall.

_They were right… he is just a jerk. Ooo! I hate admitting when Brother's right. Damn him… damn Gippal._

She desperately wanted to scream, but held in the urge. Instead she formed a plan, to see what Gippal really thought of her.

"Hey, Gippal, could you help me in here a sec?" she called from the kitchen.

Gippal stuck his head in the door, "Yea, what is it?"

"Come _in_ here," she said pretending to be struggling with something.

"What is it? We were just in the middle of a really important discussion," he stood right behind her and tried to figure out what she was doing.

She turned around to face him, cheeks hot, "I… have something to tell you."

"Okay…" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, I…" she faltered.

"This is not like Cid's girl at all to be at a lose for words. This must be really serious. Come on, out with it," he put his hands on his hips.

"I… I might just have a little teeny tiny crush on you but I'm not really sure and I just had to tell you to get it off my chest cause it was bugging the hell out of me and if you don't feel the same way I completely understand and I'm sorry for bringing it up and…" she took a much needed breath, "and the point is I think I have a crush on you."

His laughter burned her ears like fire, "Crushes are for little girls, kiddo. I'm sorry but I just don't feel the same way. Was there something else or can I go now?"

"That's all," she lowered her head and muttered under her breath, "Oui zang…"

((You jerk.))

She stayed to herself the rest of the trip except when she was around Paine, telling the warrior how right she had been about Gippal, spouting off the speech she had given him and his evil response. She disguised sadness as extreme anger and annoyance and only cried about the predicament when all the lights were out and she was sure Paine was asleep on the other bed.

@_)--------------

Okay… I know this was a short chapter, but I just wanted to see how you'd like it so far… I don't know what gives me such inspiration to write these stories but I *love* it! Review please all you wondermous peoples!

A/N - I know it seems like I'm making Gippal out to be an ass… but there's a reason. All will be revealed… later!

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	2. The Calm Before the Storm

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Being Grownup…

Back by mildly popular demand! Woohoo! Thanks for the reviews all you wonderful peeps. ^.^ Anyway… Here we go again, onto the story…

A/N - I had to go back and change something Gippal said in the last chapter cuz I screwed it up so you might want to check and see what's different. It's just one line added when he's talking to Rikku… no biggie. And once again, if you haven't read my first story this one isn't gonna make much sense, so I suggest you go back and read it cuz this chapter gets more into that story…. Anyway…

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Ch. 2_The Calm Before the Storm_

Rikku awoke the next morning with Paine shaking her. She rubbed her eyes and looked up at the other girl. Her eyes still stung with tears and she knew her face was blotchy and red.

"Something wrong?" Paine asked, gazing down at Rikku, who's swirled green eyes were blood-shot.

"Umm… no. Nothing's wrong. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I was thinking of all the mean things I could do to Gippal," she sat up, "Oh! I can't believe that yccruma… I mean, laughing _right_ in my face! Arg… I'll get him back, believe me."

Paine crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, "Of course I believe you…"

"You better, cause you and Yunie are gonna help," Rikku stood and put her hands on her hips.

"And what makes you think that?" Paine mimicked Rikku's stance.

"Well, you hate Gippal, don't you?"

"No… I just don't like the fact that he thinks he's king of Spira."

"Right, you hate the fact that he thinks he's a big shot and can laugh in girls faces when they say he has a crush on them like he can get any chick in Spira he wants," Rikku said, emphasizing her point by poking Paine in the shoulder.

Paine slapped at Rikku's finger, "That's not what I said. It's close, but not what I said. And just because I happen to dislike the way Gippal acts sometimes doesn't mean I'm gonna stoop to your level and play some childish prank on him."

"But you're not gonna play some childish prank. You're just gonna help me," Rikku grinned menacingly.

@_)--------------

The ride back was less than eventful and Rikku stepped of the airship still fuming and reciting the previous day's happenings. Paine tried to zone out from the incessant rambling, but as soon as she heard that same speech start again for the millionth time she couldn't take it anymore.

"I can't believe that jerk!" was all Paine needed to hear.

The warrior cut off the other girl, "I get it already! You hate him, big deal," a sigh escaped her lips.

This didn't stop Rikku. Talking was the only thing she could do to keep the tears ebbed, "I mean," she began again, "I tell him I _might_ have a crush on him--"

"And he laughs right in your face," Paine stated in monotone.

"It's just…" Rikku tried one more time but Paine wouldn't hear it.

Instead she took over the words, "He actually had the nerve to laugh right in your face and say crushes were for little girls. 'Sorry,' he said, 'but I just don't feel the same way. But don't feel bad. You're Cid's girl. You'll get over it soon enough," she quoted Rikku almost word for word then raised a questioning eyebrow, "Right?"

Rikku imitated the eyebrow gesture and answered haughtily, "Close enough."

They headed to Yuna's hut to ask if she'd be traveling with them. Rikku peaked her head inside but her cousin was nowhere to be found. Rikku, however, knew where to look. They headed up to the temple where Tidus was staying, Rikku giddy with the thought that Yuna had finally gotten her boy-toy back.

Rikku flung open the door to a hilariously wonderful sight. Yuna was laying on top of Tidus, kissing him and running her fingers through his hair, him stroking her back gently. Rikku couldn't help but giggle.

"YUNIE!" she gasped.

Rikku heard Paine laugh lightly, "Uh… are we interrupting anything?"

Yuna rolled off of Tidus and buried her face in her hands, mumbling something Rikku couldn't understand. The blonde crouched next to her embarrassed cousin, still giggling.

"Hey, it's okay. We won't tell," she grinned.

"Who is there to tell, anyway?" Paine asked dryly.

Tidus sat up, laughing.

Yuna turned to him red-faced, quenching a giggle, feigning an accusing look, "Hey, what's so funny?"

He smiled widely at her, "Nothing."

"Yea, sure," Rikku gave him a shove that sent him toppling over into more laughter, "So, Yunie, are you coming with us?"

"Well, I though about it and…" Yuna's pause made Rikku tense up.

"And??" Rikku asked anxiously.

"And I've decided to come with you."

"Goody!" the Al Bhed girl hopped up and down with excitement, "Oh, Yunie, it's gonna be so much fun. Let's go!"

Rikku felt Paine place a sturdy hand on her blonde locks to keep her from jumping.

"Calm down," Paine growled.

"Oo! Get off," Rikku swatted at the hand on her head, sending Yuna and Tidus into surges of laughter.

@_)--------------

The four made their way down to the village. Tidus had to stop at Wakka's to talk to him and Yuna, Paine, and Rikku made their way to Yuna's hut. Paine and Rikku waited outside while Yuna got dressed.

"What do you think he's up to?" Rikku asked as she hopped up and down impatiently, casting a curious look towards Wakka's hut.

"I don't know, and I'm sure it's none of our business," Paine crossed her arms and leaned against the hut.

"Oh, but couldn't we just take a peak?" she clapped her hands anxiously.

"Do what you want, I'm staying here," Paine closed her eyes pensively, "You know, you should really stop being so nosey. It's no surprise Gippal thinks you're…" she opened one eye to see if Rikku was listening. To no surprise the Al Bhed girl had already trotted up to Wakka's hut and was peeking in. Little did Paine know, Rikku was quite aware of what Paine was about to say, but had no desire to stay around to hear it.

"Immature…" Paine finished and shook her head, rolling her eyes, watching the girl with little interest.

Rikku first peeked into the hut, seen Tidus' shoulder and half of Wakka's form. She pressed her ear up to the hut to be able to hear better. The sounds were muffled but she could make out the words just fine.

"Two roses, one with blue and green petals and one with just blue petals, with two intertwined crystal stems," came Wakka's voice.

Rikku covered her mouth to stifle a squeal. Paine saw this and her interest grew. She walked towards the blonde, trying to mask her curiosity with a stoic expression.

"Make sure he knows I want emeralds and sapphires that exactly match her eyes," came Tidus' voice, "It has to be perfect."

Rikku hopped her way down to meet Paine.

"What?" Paine inquired.

Rikku stopped jumping up and down for a moment and put on her most innocent face, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Rikku," Paine said, threateningly.

"I'll tell you if you tell me who you like," Rikku grinned goofily.

"Um, Rikku… do you remember those 'respect points' we keep talking about?" the warrior raised an intimidating eyebrow.

Rikku frowned, "Uh huh…"

"They're slowly, but surely, depleting right now."

"Oh, fine!" Rikku pouted, but promptly perked up, hopping up and down once again, "You'll never believe what he's getting made!"

"What who's getting made?" Yuna asked as she stepped out of her hut.

@_)--------------

That's all for now… that's basically copied from chapter 5 of _The End, With You_. See, I told you there'd be a lot of repetition, but don't worry, It'll get more different as the story progresses. Thanks to my reviewers! You guys are FAH-REAKIN… not just freakin… FAH-REAKIN awesome. Really, you guys are so cool. Thnx!!!

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	3. All Play and No Work

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Being Grownup…

Okay, I got a few reviews so I decided I'd go on. ^-^ Glad you enjoy, and sorry it took a while to update. I've just been so bored and depressed lately. I'll give writing this chapter a shot. It might be short though, I'm losing inspiration. It makes me sad. If there are errors it's cuz I'm freakin' stupid and sleepy, so, sorry for that. Anyway, read on…

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Ch. 3_All Play and No Work_

"Uh… nothing," Rikku laughed nervously as Yuna approached her, "I mean, did I say getting made? I meant being made into. Yea, people make that Gippal out to be such a cool guy, but he's really just a big old jerk. Did I tell you what he said to me?" 

Rikku continued enthusiastically as they made their way to Wakka's hut. She had gone into a big spew about the previous day and was using all sorts of flailing hand gestures, when she realized she was standing outside the hut alone. Everyone else had already gone in and she was still their talking to herself.

_Geez, I'm a loser, _she thought sadly as she entered the hut. Wakka and Lulu were saying their goodbyes to Yuna, giving and receiving hugs. Rikku felt so left out, but she shrugged it off and ran her fingers through her hair.

"What's wit you?" Wakka asked, giving her a light punch on the arm.

She swayed a bit and smiled meekly, "Oh, nothing, I'm just tired and ready to go."

@_)--------------

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On the airship…

"I think we should go to Djose Temple. I've got a few dozen eggs and a bone to pick with a certain Al Bhed jerk," Rikku had brightened up since the incident at the hut and was now ginning menacingly.

"We need to go to Bevelle," Paine stated, "I have some things I need to discuss with Baralai."

"_Things?_" Rikku asked suspiciously, "What kind of things?"

"That's none of your business now, is it?" Paine questioned with a daunting tone.

"Um… I'd like to go to Luca," Tidus interjected, "I really wanna see the sphere pool again, and maybe play a few games."

"But we just came back from Luca," Rikku whined, not realizing until after she said it _why_ he wanted to go.

"Maybe we should visit the Youth League and see how Lucile and Elma are doing," Yuna offered.

"Well, that doesn't sound very exciting," Rikku said with a biting tone, that resulted from her lingering anger at Yuna's disinterest of her Gippal story.

"I didn't suggest it because it was exciting. I suggested it because it would be polite," Yuna argued with an identical biting tone.

"Whoa, chill Yunie," the swirled eyes widened with surprise.

"I'm sorry, I just think it would be nice, after all they've done to help us," Yuna said, a bit more calmly.

"E ys cdemm lybdeyh uv drec creb!" Brother blurted.

((I am still the captain of this ship!))

"Speak so we can all understand," Paine said through gritted teeth.

"I decide where we go," he continued, pointedly.

Rikku rolled her eyes. She was sure that he would got with whatever Yuna said, or let her make the decision.

"And I say… it is up to Rikku."

"Alright!" Rikku applauded herself. She hadn't been expecting that. She glanced Yuna's frowning face and stopped clapping, "But… it's alright Yunie, we have to cross Mushroom Rock on the way to Luca. We'll just take the long way."

"What about Bevelle?" Paine demanded.

"Can it wait?" Yuna asked politely, "Please?"

Paine sighed in exasperation, "I suppose…"

@_)--------------

When they finally arrived at Djose it was getting dark. The plan was to spend the night in the airship, let Rikku have her fun with Gippal the next day, then be on their way to Youth League H.Q. Rikku sat in her bed tossing and turning. She was so ready to get him back, but she still wondered whether or not it was a good idea. What if he caught them? Oh, it didn't matter. She planned on revealing herself afterwards anyway and laughing right in his face for doing that to her. She felt the tears well up in her eyes again and she blinked them away. No way was she going to cry over him anymore. She'd done so too many times in the past and tomorrow she'd have her revenge anyway.

She didn't get much sleep that night and was awake before anyone else the next morning. She ran around the ship getting things prepared for her prank, bounding with energy. Paine awoke not long after her and she just decided to let Yuna and Tidus sleep until she was ready to go.

When it was finally time Rikku came trouncing up the steps to where Yuna and Tidus were. They were now sharing a bed and Rikku giggled, "Yunie!"

She heard Yuna's exasperated sigh, "Yes?"

Rikku ran all the way up to where they were and greeted them with a big bright smile, "Hey, Yunie, wanna help?"

"Help?" Yuna asked, hesitantly.

"Mmm hmm. Gippal is scheduled to arrive at Djose in a couple of hours and I've got a surprise in store for him," her grin turned evil.

@_)--------------

"Okay, here's the plan," Rikku stooped behind a bush with Yuna behind her and Paine straggling somewhere farther away. They stared at the guards watching the doors to the temple and Rikku moved her gaze over to Gippal's prized machina motorcycle, which was to be the target of this prank, "You go over and distract the guard as much as possible and for as long as possible and I'll do the dirty work. Got it?"

Yuna nodded seriously and let out a giggle.

"What am I suppose to do?" Paine asked, "I don't even know why I'm here."

"You're the lookout. You watch for Gippal and tell me when he's on his way, so we can hide and I can," she wiggled her eyebrows, "_surprise_ him."

"Fine," Paine scoffed.

They set off to their work. Paine stayed behind at the bush and watched for any sign of Gippal on the horizon. Yuna approached the guards and greeted them with a seductive smile, flirting and conversing to keep their attention from Rikku, who was now hard at work.

Toilet paper covered the machina, eggs splattered across it and rubbed into the soft velvet of the seat. It was a total mess and Rikku relished in it. To her is was a work of art. If only she had a comsphere to take a picture. She wanted to remember this moment forever.

Then Paine approached, "He's coming."

"Oh, goody! Let's hide!" Rikku jumped behind the bush, followed by Paine and Yuna.

Gippal strode up in his usual confidently, cocky way and ran his fingers through his hair. He said something to the soldiers at the door and Rikku saw them point in the direction of their bush. Gippal looked towards his motorcycle. His eyes widened and he walked closer in disbelief. His expression was that of horrified anger.

"Fnyd dna vilg!?"

((What the fuck!?))

@_)--------------

Okay, I decided I'd leave it there and see if I got any reviews. I'm sorry this is short and chapters aren't coming out quickly, I just feel like I'm not doing that great on this story. I'm in a depressed mood lately and I think I may be coming down with something. Thanks to all those who review. You guys are awesome!

A/N - Okay, I have a question, e-mail me if you know the answer. E-MAIL, no review, okay? Well, I was just wondering if anyone else knows more about Gippal and Rikku's past relationship? Because I've played the game twice and I never heard them say anything about it so I'm pretty sure there's not much to it originally, so I'm probably gonna make it up if there's nothing else to it than that that I've heard them mention in the game. So if you know anything… _anything_ about their relationship EMAIL me, cuz it would really help me develop the story. Thnx so much!

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	4. All The Times I Cried

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Being Grownup…

Highya again. It's been a while so this chapter is longer to make up for it sort of. Chapter four… *sigh*… I don't really have anything to say. Lots of Al Bhed in this chapter. That's all…

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Ch. 4_All The Times I Cried_

Rikku jumped from her hiding spot and confronted Gippal, laughing manically, "Dryd'c fryd oui kad, yccruma!"

((That's what you get, asshole!))

"Oui tet drec?" Gippal's jaw dropped.

((You did this?))

"Ruputo dinhc Rikku tufr yht kadc yfyo fedr ed!" Rikku put her hands on her hips and glared at him.

((Nobody turns down Rikku and gets away with it!))

"Fnyd? Drec ec ypuid dryd?" he looked shocked and Rikku felt a pang of guilt hit her right in the stomach.

((What? This is about that?))

"Uv luinca ed ec," was all she could say.

((Of course it is))

He stepped closer to her, "Oui aqbald sa du mega oui frah oui yld mega dryd?"

((You expect me to like you when you act like that?))

Rikku gritted her teeth. So many emotions flowed into her. Confusion, guilt, anger, sadness, they were all there. She exploded on him.

"E fuimth'd yld mega dryd ev oui ryth'd paah cilr y zang! Oui dnayd sa mega y meddma kenm! E buinat so raynd uid du oui! E ryt ahuikn luinyka du damm oui, yht oui lymm sa meddma kenm! Pid E's hud!" tears were free-falling rapidly from the swirled eyes, "E's hud, yht E uhmo fyhdat oui du caa dnyd vun uhla."

((I wouldn't act like that if you hadn't been such a jerk! You treat me like a little girl! I poured my heart out to you, and you call me a little girl! But I'm not! -- I'm not and I just wanted you to see that for once.))

"Rikku," Gippal said and she could feel his confusion, "Rikku… oui'na y cfaad kenm yht oui'na lida yc ramm. Yht… yc silr yc E ryda du ytsed ed, E'ja ryt vaymehkc vun oui… pid, Rikku…"

((Rikku -- Rikku… you're a really sweet girl and you're cute as hell. And… as much as I hate to admit it, I've had feelings for you… but, Rikku…))

She stared down at her shuffling feet, a million thoughts racing through her head. She was ashamed about telling him what she did, but all the while, glad to have gotten it out. She knew what he was going to say, and dreaded the words to come. She wanted to run away, but was determined to stand her ground until the end.

"Rikku," he continued after much thought on wording, "Ed'c hud oui E fyhd…"

((Rikku -- It's not you I want…))

She looked up at him with mild shock. She'd been expecting rejection, but someone else?

"Fru?" she asked, tears pulling at the back of her eyes, begging for an exit.

((Who?))

His gaze fell to the ground, "Ed'c… ed'c Paine. Yht ed'c paah dryd fyo vun yc muhk yc E'ja ghufh ran."

((It's… it's Paine. And it's been that way for as long as I've known her.))

Rikku's mouth stood agape. She couldn't believe the words that had just been spoken to her. Paine and Gippal? Surely this was some sort of horrible joke. Did Paine feel this way too?

She shook her head and felt the pull of the tears tighten, "Hu… hud ran. Hud uha uv so pacd vneahtc!"

((No… not her. Not one of my best friends!))

"Rikku, E's cunno," he took another step towards her and tried to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

((Rikku, I'm sorry))

She jerked away, still shaking her head slowly, staring with her mouth agape and eyes wide. She began backing up towards the bridge, the tears finally brimming in her eyes. She wished right then she'd never met Gippal. Never known him, never talked to him, never touched him, never let him touch her. His hand reached out again to comfort her but she turned around and ran off just before Yuna and Paine emerged from their own hiding space.

@_)--------------

Rikku stomped down the path, away from Djose, away from Gippal, as far away from her humiliation and regret as possible.

"DRYD VILG!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

((That fuck))

She just wanted to crawl in a hole somewhere, curl up and be forgotten. She was overwhelmed with a mix of negative emotions. She didn't have the presence of mind even to tell the difference between anger and sadness. She was pretty sure what she felt was anger, because she had an intense urge to squish Gippal's measly little head with the rocks that she kicked at below her. She stomped on any little bug that crawled by, imagining them all as tiny little Gippals… until she realized how childish that was and stopped herself.

She shook her head to clear the thoughts running through her mind. She felt like such a kid. Seventeen and still jumping around like a toddler. But, it was who she was. 

_Why can't people get that and just stop calling me immature?! _she screamed in her head.

She leaned against the rock wall and crossed her arms and feet, contemplating. She wanted to show them she wasn't little anymore, but… how? She was so angry she wanted to scream and throw things, but she just stood there calmly, thinking. That was mature, wasn't it?

It just wasn't fair. That realization hit her like a ton of bricks and all of a sudden her shoulders shook with sobs. She covered her face with her hands and sunk to her knees. Memories flooded back to her of the times she'd spent with Gippal, not so long ago. He didn't know Paine then, did he? When he had held her and joked with her, had he been thinking of someone else? No, he didn't know Paine then. But… did that mean he hadn't cared about her like he said he did?

Her head swam and she heard footsteps coming towards her. Yuna knelt beside her and placed a soft hand on the convulsing back. Rikku wished she could ebb the tears, but they just kept falling. Yuna put her arms around the distraught girl.

"Rikku, it'll be okay," Yuna assured, "Paine isn't going to do anything with Gippal. She won't."

Rikku continued to sniffle, but she had managed to subside the tears a bit. She wiped her cheeks and eyes.

"Let's go back to the airship for a while," Rikku suggested, "I need to rest before we go to Mushroom Rock."

Yuna nodded and helped Rikku up and the two girls made their way back to the airship.

@_)--------------

Rikku's nap was anything but satisfying. Her dreams were fitful and her bed uncomfortable. When Yuna came to wake Rikku, she urged the younger girl to get ready quickly. Rikku was exhausted, but she respected Yuna's wishes. Soon after, YRP and their new old addition, Tidus, were off.

By the time they arrived the sun had gone down and there was only a touch of color on the horizon. Lucile and Elma and the other Youth League members greeted them with warm and welcoming smiles.

"Ah, Lady Yuna," Lucile greeted her, "So nice to see you again. What can we do for you?"

"Oh, nothing. We just stopped by to thank you for all the help you've given us," Yuna shook Lucile's hand.

"Lady Yuna, it was and is our pleasure, believe me," Lucile ensured, "It is getting rather late. Please feel free to stay here with us if you wish."

"No, that's oka--" Rikku began, but was promptly cut off for about the millionth time. _I'm getting really sick of that, _she thought.

"We'd love to," Yuna said quickly, "Thank you, very much."

Rikku pulled Yuna aside and questioned hesitantly, "Yunie, why not just go back to the airship?"

"I… I'd just like to stay here tonight. It's much too dark to go all the way back to the airship. You know fiends are always worse at night."

"Al… right…" Rikku said, confused and a little irritated.

Lucile showed them to their room. It had two rather large beds and a couch positioned against the wall in front of them.

"I am sorry, we have limited accommodations," Lucile apologized, "If one of you would like to stay with the soldiers, they have an extra bunk or two."

"It's alright," Tidus smiled assuredly.

"Alright. Sleep well everyone," Lucile exited.

"So, who gets what?" Rikku asked.

Paine laid down casually on one of the beds, "This is mine."

Rikku jumped on the other one, "Mine!"

Yuna looked from the couch to Tidus hesitantly, "You take it."

"Nonsense," he shook his head, "It's all yours. I'll sleep on the floor"

"Why don't you just share with me, Yunie?" Rikku proposed, "or I could sleep on the couch and the two of you could share this bed."

Rikku noticed Paine raise an eyebrow at her.

"What? It's not like they haven't shared a bed before," Rikku pointed out.

Tidus was getting extremely uncomfortable now, "I'll… I'll just sleep on the couch."

@_)--------------

Rikku was having trouble sleeping now. She wasn't sure if it was because of her nap or the thoughts still swimming through her mind.

_Why can't I just stop thinking about him? _she asked herself angrily, _He's not that impressive. He's just a stupid idiot guy. So why do I care that he doesn't care?_

She hit herself in the head and pulled her hair. She wondered if Paine and Yuna were asleep. She heard Tidus snoring lightly, draped across the couch. She opened her eyes and didn't see ruby ones staring back at her, so she figured Paine, too, had drifted off. Yuna was her only hope.

"Yunie? You awake?" Rikku whispered.

"Yes…" came Yuna's soft voice.

"Yunie, can I ask you something?"

"Sure…" the other girl answered and Rikku could distinctly hear annoyance in her voice.

_Is she getting tired of me too? _Rikku wondered to herself, but asked her question anyway, "What is it like to be in love?"

"Well… why do you ask?"

"I've just… never felt it before and… I wanted to know what it was like," Rikku felt her voice falter and her cheeks get hot.

There was a short silence and Rikku could tell Yuna was searching for the perfect way to put it into words. Finally her answer came.

"It's… I can tell you that when you're with the person you love… you… you never want to let them go. You want to hold them and kiss them and let them do the same to you. When they're gone it feels like you're missing a piece of yourself, like there's a hole cut out of your heart. You cry tears of sorrow when they leave and tears of joy when they come back. Even if they only left for a few minutes. Thinking about them makes all the pain and worries go away… That doesn't do the feeling justice but… did it help to answer your question?"

Rikku felt her eyes brim with tears, "Yea… thanks Yunie." Her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"No problem, Rikku," came Yuna's final response.

Rikku turned over again and the tears fell, but she kept quite. She didn't want to disturb anyone anymore than she already had. By the time she stopped crying the pillow was soaked. She wiped her face with the pillow and forced the tears away.

Not long after she had stopped crying she felt Yuna turn and stand. Rikku wondered where her cousin could be going at such an hour, but thought it best not to ask questions. Yuna was gone for only a little while when Tidus, too, stretched and stood. He looked around for a moment then exited the room as well.

Rikku sat on the edge of the bed, staring into the darkness. If she couldn't be happy, they would be. She would make sure they never had to be apart. She stood and walked over to the couch. She studied it pensively for a moment then crawled in and snuggled up.

Once Yuna ran in and grabbed a blanket off their bed, not noticing Rikku's change in location.

The couple entered the room a while later. Rikku kept her head down, faking slumber. Of course, she wasn't asleep. She wouldn't sleep tonight. There were still too many thoughts clogging up her mind.

@_)--------------

Geez… I know it's been a while, but I just kind of got out of it for a while. I wasn't really getting that many reviews, but I decided for those of you who did review I'd continue. Thanks so much… you guys are all cool and stuff. Talk at ya later.

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	5. Your Eyes Say I've Lost You

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Being Grownup…

Okay, back again, before I lose interest for a third time. This story seems to be going nowhere fast and I think it's about to get even more complicated. But anyway, here we go again… Enjoy, I guess.

A/N - I know I may have timing or events off a little bit, but please don't chastise me. It's just for effect and story completion or whatever. I'm not really shooting for accuracy. I'm sorry if you're offended by my wrongness. All apologies. Also… Gippal and Rikku have a conversation that's not written in Al Bhed… I didn't feel like translating and all that good stuff so just use your imagination. J 

@_)--------------

Ch. 5_Your Eyes Say I've Lost You_

Rikku and Paine awoke simultaneously the next morning and decided to head over to see Nooj before they left, leaving the two lovers to themselves for a while.

"Rikku, I don't think this is such a good idea. I'm pretty sure Yuna wanted to head out early," Paine mentioned on the way there.

"Oh, don't be silly," Rikku rolled her eyes, "They need alone time. They keep getting interrupted so they deserve it."

"Yea, interrupted by you," Paine gave her a playful shove.

Rikku giggled slightly. Although the push had not hurt, the words had inside. She wondered if Paine knew how much words could hurt.

"Paine," Rikku slowed her pace, "I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what?" Paine raised an eyebrow.

"For, ya know, not… taking Gippal's offer, or whatever. It mean a lot to me, that's all," Rikku stumbled over her words. She was still finding it hard to be serious, no matter how she tried.

"It's no problem. I really don't like him anyway. I wasn't kidding when I told you he was a jerk, Rikku," Paine assured her.

"I know," Rikku stared at her feet as they walked, "It's just, I thought maybe once I told him, he'd change in to the guy I used to know."

"The guy you used to know? Who was that?" Paine questioned.

"Oh, you don't know him. He died a long time ago, after I left him," Rikku gave a slight smile, remembering that night only a couple of years ago. The night she lost Gippal forever.

@_)--------------

__

Two Years Earlier…

Rikku stood there, pacing, trying to get the words just right in her head. She'd been trying to figure out what to say to him. She'd broken up with her share of guys before, but somehow Gippal was different. She'd shared so much with him and her dad loved him, unlike most of those other past guys. So, what exactly would she say that wouldn't make him hate her?

_We're moving too fast, Gippal,_ she tried, but she knew that wasn't it. _No, we weren't moving too fast. We were moving at exactly the right speed. Why are you doing this to yourself, Rikku? He's a great guy. Yea… but is he what I want? Geez, I've been over this a million times. No, he's not. And even if he is, Dreka wants me and I can't have two at the same time._

All of a sudden, Gippal appeared. He _did not _look happy. _Oh no, he knows! _Rikku thought, _I'm in trouble now…_

"Cheating?" the first word out of Gippal's mouth.

Rikku hung her head, sorry a million times over for what she'd done. She hadn't felt bad until she saw the angry look on his face, the hurt emanating from his eyes. She wanted to reach out and embrace him. She wanted to erase what she'd done. Dreka had been handsome, but he wasn't worth this. She'd just wished she'd realized that before it was too late. She'd lost Gippal now, she could tell from that look in his eyes.

"Gippal, I'm so sorry," she began.

"Look, I don't wanna hear it. I'm leaving tomorrow anyway."

"Please, just let me explain!" Rikku pleaded, her heart throbbing with pain.

"No, I told you, I don't wanna hear it. I thought we had something, you know? And then you go and ruin it," the hurt in his voice stung her ears.

"Please, Gippal. I don't want it to end like this. What I did was stupid, I know that. But, you have to hear me out," tears brimmed in her eyes, but she was determined that he wouldn't see her cry.

"I have to go. I'm leaving early tomorrow to start training. Personally, I hope I never have to come back," he turned to leave, "Tell Cid I said it was nice knowing him."

"Gippal… please…" she pleaded once more to his back, then sunk to her knees in tears as he disappeared out of sight.

@_)--------------

__

The Present

Rikku snapped back into reality. She'd been daydreaming since she and Paine had finished their conversation and the two were now sitting inside League H.Q. Paine was carrying on an uninteresting conversation with Nooj. The two were droning on and on, leaving Rikku to her own thoughts, when Yuna barged in. She hustled them out, quickly thanking Nooj.

She took a few minutes to chastise Paine and Rikku for not waking her and then they left. When they finally arrived in Luca, Tidus made an excuse to leave the group, giving them a location to meet up at later. Yuna was hesitant to let him leave at first but Rikku knew what he was up to and with much convincing on her part, Tidus was free and the girls, much to Paine's dismay, went off for a round of shopping.

After errands were run and shopping was complete they met up on the steps in the town square of Luca. Tidus was beaming from ear to ear and gave Yuna a big hug and kiss as soon as she walked up to him.

"What's gotten into you?" she giggled as he released her.

"Nothing, I'm just in a really good mood," he hugged her again.

"Stop acting so happy. You're freakin' me out," Rikku jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

He laughed and mussed her hair, "So, where to now?"

"Well, it's getting kind of late, thanks to those two over there," Yuna sent Paine and Rikku an evil glare, obviously trying not to giggle, "Maybe we should stay in that new hotel they just opened."

"Ooh! Yea! I heard they have _really _comfy rooms and they're cheap!" Rikku jumped up and down to emphasize her point, but quickly stopped herself, trying to keep in check.

"Well, you sure are feeling better," Paine smirked.

"That's because you're such a nice friend," Rikku bear-hugged Paine, who rolled her eyes in response.

"Get off me, and let's go…" Paine started towards the hotel, and the rest followed.

@_)--------------

They rented two separate rooms, the only two that were available. Paine and Rikku got dibs on the two bedroom, in another of Rikku's mischievous schemes to give the two lovers as much alone time as possible. Rikku knew what Tidus was so happy about and she didn't want to ruin it for them. She was still hurting inside, but there was a bit of happiness growing in her with this little project of hers.

Rikku sat on the edge of her bed. Paine had already curled up and was presumably asleep.

"Paine?" Rikku whispered once, just to make sure.

No answer. Rikku needed to talk to somebody, but who? She didn't have anyone. She felt like a burden to them all now, after she realized how childish she'd been all this time.

_But, still… it's not FAIR! _her mind screamed at her, _Why do they all have to think like that? I'm just me. Immaturity is who I am. When did having a good sense of humor turn into being immature? When did playful turn into being immature? I thought guys were suppose to like playful girls…_

Rikku fell back onto the bed, exhausted from all the worrying. It would be okay if she could just stop thinking for two seconds… then she would be able to sleep. But no, this night would be no different from the last. No sleep and when sleep came, unhappy dreams, then she'd wake and the cycle would continue. It was better just to keep awake.

@_)--------------

The next morning Rikku was startled by a knock at the door. She opened it and was greeted by a man with an envelope.

"Paine?" he asked.

"Yes, she's in here," Rikku replied.

"This is for her," the man handed her the envelope and she accepted it, thanking him then shutting the door.

She made her way over to Paine's bed, examining the envelope, trying to see it's contents. She poked Paine, who woke up easily, with a soft mumble.

"What?" the warrior asked sleepily.

"A letter just came for you," Rikku help out the letter.

Paine stretched and sat up, throwing her bare legs over the side of the bed, "Let me wake up."

"Okay," Rikku said and sat down, waiting for Paine to collect herself.

The gray-haired girl made her way into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. She dried off and reentered the room, sauntering slowly up to Rikku, not expecting the horrible news the letter held.

@_)--------------

Mmm cliffhangers… I love them, I must admit. But don't worry, I'm working on the next chapter as we speak… thanks reviewers. Rock on! And all that good stuff…

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	6. Bad Tidings We Bring

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Being Grownup…

Mmhmm… I know what you're thinking… Geez, not _another_ chapter, but yes, I _am _back. Whether you like it or not. *big grin* Well, I guess I'll go ahead and get started… here we go again…

@_)--------------

Ch. 6_Bad Tidings We Bring_

Paine took the letter from Rikku's outstretched hand and opened it casually. She read for a moment and Rikku noticed her face begin to darken. Paine plopped down on the bed staring blankly at the note.

"No…" she muttered.

"What's wrong?" Rikku asked and went to sit beside her friend.

Paine's eyes drifted away into oblivion as Rikku lifted the note from the girls hand. She read silently the horrible words on the page in her trembling hand.

_My dear friend Paine, _it began, obviously Baralai's handwriting, _I am sorry to give you such awful news, so bluntly, but I know you would not have it any other way. I have been injured by one of the Youth League radicals. Shot in the side. My physician says I won't live long. Yes, I am dying, getting weaker by the day. But I don't want you to worry about me. Go on with what you're doing, forget. I only wanted to inform you so the news of my passing wouldn't come as a shock. I'd prefer you not see me like this anyway. This is also my opportunity to say goodbye. You have been a truly wonderful friend. Tell Yuna and Rikku that I send my best. Farewell, my friend. Sincerely, Baralai._

By the time she'd finished, tears were flooding down Rikku's face. She was getting so sick of crying, but it just wouldn't stop.

"Dying…" she heard Paine whisper, breathlessly, as she took the note from Rikku again and stared at the words.

"I'll go get Yuna," Rikku stood and bolted to the door.

"No, I don't want her to see me like this," Paine said, slowly regaining her strength.

"Well, at least let me tell her what happened," Rikku said and made her way out the door to Yuna's room.

Yuna answered the door and immediately frowned when she saw her disconcerted cousin's tears.

"What's wrong?" Yuna asked, embracing her cousin.

"Paine… she…" Rikku tried to explain but couldn't find the words amongst all the tears.

"What's wrong with Paine?" Yuna's eyes widened.

"No… not her. She got a letter from Bevelle. Baralai… he's…" the young girl collapsed in tears.

"Come on, Rikku. Let's go talk to Paine," Yuna began leading Rikku to the other room.

"No! She said she didn't want you to see her like this. She's really torn up."

"What happened to Baralai?" Yuna asked.

"He…" she sobbed, "One of the Youth League radicals… he's hurt."

Yuna gasped and ran to the other room, flinging the door open, Rikku right behind her. Paine was sitting on the bed, tears soaking her face, holding the horrible letter she'd just received. She looked up at Yuna, undeniably beside herself and out of it.

"He's… dying," Paine stated, plainly, tears threatening to fall.

Yuna went to the other girl and embraced her. Rikku stood at the doorway, not knowing exactly what to do. She was confused by it all. Paine's sadness and disarray was unusual and a little frightening, it made Rikku uneasy.

"Are you going to go see him?" Yuna asked.

"I… I don't know. It says in here that he doesn't want me to come because he doesn't want me to see him in that condition. But, I know Nooj and Gippal are going. They'd never listen to that shit."

"Damn it!" Rikku kicked the doorframe, her anger finally exploding, "Why does everything have to go to hell once things start to look up?!"

"Come here," Yuna motioned for Rikku to join them.

The three sat on the bed, looking sadly down at the tear stained letter, wondering what should be done.

Not too long after that Tidus breezed by the door. Yuna excused herself momentarily.

"What do you think he could be up to?" Paine asked.

"I don't know," Rikku said and made her way into the bathroom, running a washcloth under the cold water. She came back in and handed it to Paine, "Here. Dab your face with it and it'll get rid of the red blotchies."

"Thanks, Rikku," Paine said and began to pat her face down. Rikku sat down beside her and hugged her. Paine didn't pull away this time and Rikku couldn't help but think how unnerving this whole situation was.

Yuna reentered the room, "Well, that was strange."

"What?" Paine asked, obviously uninterested.

"Nothing," Yuna said, simply, "So, have you made up your mind about Bevelle?"

"I don't want to leave for Bevelle until late. I don't want to get there until tomorrow, just so he doesn't see it coming. Does that make any sense?" Paine was struggling with words, something unusual for her.

"Of course it does," Rikku was still hugging the ruby eyed warrior. Paine hadn't attempted to get away once. This event had truly worried her, it was clear, and in that, everyone else was worried.

Paine broke down again, "What if he dies today? If he goes I want to be there with him, holding his hand, telling him everything will be fine!" she stood and grabbed a lamp, throwing it against the far wall. It shattered into a million horrible pieces. Shards of an angry soul.

"But damn it! It won't be fine! Why does it have to be this way?! Why couldn't it have been me? DAMN IT!" she punched the wall with great force, tearing a hole in it.

Rikku's eyes widened in fear. She'd never seen Paine this full of hurt and anger before. Yuna, too was scared, but went to Paine, taking her arm.

"It will be alright. You'll go be with him tomorrow and after that everything will be fine. He'll survive. All he needs is his friends… you and Gippal and Nooj."

"If you say so," Paine shook her head, "You're too perfect for your own good Yuna."

She didn't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, "I'm not that perfect."

Paine was intrigued, and happy to get the predicament off her mind for a while, "No?"

"Tidus and I… last night, he gave me this beautiful rose made of jewels and crystals. It was beautiful and I had to pay him back. So… we…" she blushed.

"Yunie!" Rikku gasped, then began to giggle, exceedingly happy her plan had worked.

"It's not funny! It was just so special," Yuna brought her hands up to cover her face.

"Wow, I have to say I'm surprised. Perfect little Yuna gives it up before she gets married," Paine teased.

"I'm not little!" Yuna balled her fists at her sides stifling a giggle.

Paine and Rikku both doubled over with laughter, forgetting the horrible happenings for one sweet moment.

@_)--------------

After they had finally collected themselves Yuna decided they needed to look for Tidus, to inform him of their situation. Rikku knew today would be a long day, she could feel it, and she knew everyone else could too.

"Where do ya think he went?" Rikku inquired.

"Perhaps," Paine pondered, "he went off to buy another present so he could--"

Paine was cut off by a rough shove, "You finish that sentence and you'll no longer own your hair."

"What?" Paine asked as innocently as she could, "I was just gonna say, 'so he could show how much he loves you again.'"

Yuna narrowed her eyes, "Mmhmm… suuuure…"

They all burst into laughter and were almost rolling on the ground when Yuna's eyes caught a glimpse of unmistakable golden hair shining in the sun light. Her laughter ceased completely when she saw what he was doing. Yuna dropped to her knees and Paine and Rikku were automatically by her side.

"Yunie, what's wrong?" Rikku studied her cousin with worried eyes. All Yuna could do was stare at the horrible sight before her.

Paine was next to realize what was happening and pointed, "Rikku…"

Rikku's eyes fell on the atrocity the other two were witnessing. The glint of his golden hair was unmistakable, but something about his aura was very wrong. 

It was Tidus… sitting at an outdoor table at a café innocently enough, but right across from him was a gorgeous young girl who looked strangely familiar. And… they were holding hands in the middle of the table. She leaned in towards him and he swept the hair out of her face gently.

"Oh, no…" the swirled eyes went from Yuna with worry, to the event taking place with horror, "It can't be. Maybe it's just some guy that looks like him again. Or, maybe…"

"Don't…" Paine shook her head.

Yuna stood shakily. "I'll be right back," she said, "just… stay here. Please."

Rikku and Paine nodded and Yuna made her way over to Tidus and the young girl. She laid her hand lightly on the table and smiled down at Tidus.

"Hi," she said plainly.

"Oh, hi Yuna," he smiled back as if everything was just fine.

"Who's this?" Yuna raised an eyebrow and cocked her head towards the girl.

"Hi. I'm Jade," she stuck out her hand and Yuna blatantly ignored it. The girl responded with a bitter smile, which was returned by Yuna with just as much sourness.

"I just met her and she's wonderful Yuna. You'd really like her if you got to know her," Tidus nodded to emphasize his point.

"I'm sure I wouldn't," Yuna crossed her arms.

"Sure you would. I mean, Tidus gave me a chance and we hit it off just great. Didn't we sweetie?" Jade smiled with false love at Tidus, and Yuna caught a hint of treachery in her icy green eyes.

"No… trust me, I really wouldn't. But, I would like to speak to you privately for a moment if you don't mind… Jezebel… was it?" Yuna smirked.

"Jade…" the girl stated, anger rising in her voice. She rose from the table, "I'll be back in a minute sweetness."

The girl bent down and kissed Tidus, staring hard at Yuna the whole time. Jade then followed the angry girl over to a secluded area beside the café, out of Paine and Rikku's sight. Needless to say, Rikku was beginning to get worried. This was not like Tidus. Something was wrong and this girl was to blame, Rikku knew.

What was she up to?…

@_)--------------

I have no friggin idea… actually I do… and if you've read my first story like I told you to, you'll know too… and I'm not going into massive detail with it either, cuz this is **Rikku's story!**So, if you wanna read about Yuna, read my first one, _The End, With You_. Or, read somebody else's… whatever works for you… Rock on…

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	7. The Turning Point

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Being Grownup…

Okay, I'm back again… this chapter, I think, is going to be really complicated to write. I'm trying to give it my best but I'm slowly sinking into a hole in my life right now, so no matter how hard I try it won't really be my best work. I'm so sorry for that. You guys deserve better. But, I _am_ trying my best… so, here we go again…

A/N - I'm so sorry for all the repetition between this story and my first. To those of you that read _The End, With You_ this one is probably exceedingly boring so far, but _please_ stick with me. I'll get different after this chapter, and better to, hopefully… I think…

@_)--------------

Ch. 7_The Turning Point_

Yuna asked for alone time so the other two girls made their way back to their hotel room. Rikku sat stoic on the bed, pondering the events that had begun this horrible downward spiral. First, Tidus had shown up, then Rikku and Paine had decided to leave.

_It was all my fault for convincing Paine we needed to get out of Besaid, _Rikku chastised herself, _How could I have thought anything could have topped the quite life we had there._

Then she thought of the exact minute she'd decided to tell Gippal she had a crush on him. She realized she hadn't even thought about the possibility of him still being angry with her. 

_I should have guessed, _she thought, _I mean, that was one of the last times I saw him. But who knew a guy could hold a grudge that long?_

Her mind was starting to annoy her again. She was so sick of thinking and crying and feeling bad. She was sick of the sleepless nights, she was sick of being pushed away from everyone. She was exhausted.

Paine stood up from her bed, where she'd been reading by lamp light.

"I'm going to take a shower," she announced and went into the bathroom.

Rikku heard the knob on the shower squeak and the water begin to pour down. She suddenly realized how thirsty she was. She stood up and went into the small kitchen. She took a disposable cup from the counter and filled it with water from the spigot. She gulped the contents of the cup and tossed it away. She turned away to walk back to her bed when she caught her reflection in a mirror on the wall.

A small child stared back at her through the eyes in the reflection. The girl around them looked drained and tired, her hair mussed and her flesh paled. But the eyes, they sparkled like a child's, full of laughter and mischief just waiting to be released. Rikku stepped closer to the mirror and sat a finger to one of the eyes on the glass. She felt a pang of sorrow in her heart. What was she to do? She didn't want these eyes to lose their sparkle.

Suddenly Paine trotted back into the room, wrapped in a towel, drying her hair

"What are you doing?" the warrior asked as Rikku hopped back from the mirror like it had bitten her.

"Nothing," she said and laughed nervously, crossing to her bed and falling back onto it dramatically.

At that moment Yuna abruptly burst into the room. Her eyes burnt with fire and passion. She looked from Rikku to Paine and back.

"This girl is going down," she growled.

"Yea!" Rikku hopped up and down, cheering Yuna on.

"How do you propose we do it?" Paine asked.

"Not us… me," the blue and green eyes glinted with bitterness.

"Wow, Yunie, you're like… rabid," Rikku giggled.

"Just… help me think of a plan," Yuna paced back and forth.

The girls thought in silence for a while. Paine pondered different torture methods, Rikku contemplated the girl's inner being, and Yuna just thought about how much she wanted to kill that girl, and Tidus to for falling into her trap.

Suddenly, Rikku thought of something.

"Here's what I think Yunie… girls like that never have much heart. They're weak when it comes to feeling anything but want for what they don't have," Rikku scratched her chin.

"She's got a point," Paine acknowledged, "Though, I can't tell you what her weakness physically would be. She looks like you, so she might fight like you to. But, she is more girly, so there's not really a solid way to figure it out."

Yuna perked up, "I've got a plan! Thank you so much!" She hugged them both and ran out to find… _them…_

"I wonder what she's gonna do?" Rikku wondered aloud, "You think we should follow her, just incase?"

"No, Yuna's strong, she can take care of herself," Paine assured.

"Okay… if you say so," but Rikku wasn't so sure. She had a bad feeling about all this. She wanted to make sure Yuna was okay, but she knew Paine wouldn't let her interfere. Rikku laid down on her bed, suddenly overcome with exhaustion.

@_)--------------

The next day, Tidus was back to normal and Yuna was happy again. The only unfortunate happening was that they arrived in Bevelle later than expected because the Celsius had to have repairs and Yuna began to rant and rave once more. She gritted her teeth and paced constantly.

"What's up with Yunie?" Rikku whispered to Paine.

"I don't know. Maybe she's upset about Baralai?" Paine guessed.

"I don't think so. She's never like this unless something really important is in trouble," Rikku muttered.

"And you're saying Baralai isn't important?" Paine narrowed her eyes at the young girl.

"No! I didn't mean it like that… oh," Rikku faltered, "I just meant, something really important to _her_ alone. Like, she's nervous cause no one else knows that this thing is so important to her. Like… she's hiding something. Or… something."

"Rikku, you're rambling," Paine pointed out, austerely.

"Sorry," the girl laughed nervously and continued to watch her cousin pace, "I wonder what she's up to…"

@_)--------------

They exited the Celsius just as light was falling away from the sky, and headed in to see Baralai. Rikku noticed Yuna continually glance toward Macalania. Something was definitely up with her. But, now was not the time to ask questions.

They were greeted with smiling faces and were all shown into Baralai's room. He lay on the bed, his once golden brown skin, now pail and fragile. He was covered in blankets, but the wraps showed, where the covers had been pushed down. Paine sat by his beside and took his hand.

"Nooj and Gippal have already been here," he sighed, suffering with every breath.

Tears were already running down Paine's face. She asked, with a hint of anger, "You sent them away, didn't you?"

"Of course. Paine, it's been so long since I've seen you shed a tear, don't start just for me."

Paine turned to the others, "Can you give us a minute."

They nodded and left, leaving the two to their anguish. Rikku against a wall with her arms and legs crossed in front of her. This was all too complicated…

Just then Paine exited the room, cheeks stained with tears. Rikku and Yuna automatically ran up to her, embracing her. She hugged them back, to the astonishment of all.

"He's gonna be okay," she said with a chuckle and a few more tears.

"Oh! That's wonderful!" Rikku hopped up and down for the millionth time.

"I'm so glad, Paine," Yuna smiled sweetly at her friend.

"I need to get some rest," Paine ran her fingers through her silvery hair.

Rikku yawned, "Yea, I think we all do."

@_)--------------

Rikku was woken up abruptly the next morning by Paine's hands on her shoulders, shaking her.

"Rikku!" Paine called to her.

Rikku's eyes opened on Paine's panicked face. Thoughts of Baralai's death automatically entered her mind. 

She sat up, "Is it Baralai?"

Paine shook her head, "No, come with me. It's the Tidus guy."

Rikku and Paine ran into the living room and Rikku stopped in her tracks. There in front of her was Tidus, disappearing, right before her eyes.

"Oh no! Should we tell Yunie?" she ran up to Tidus.

"No, it's better if she doesn't have to see this again," he hung his blonde head.

"Oh no! No, no, no, no, no!" Rikku covered her face with her hands, "This isn't FAIR!! None of it's fair!"

Yuna took that time to come into the room, searching for Tidus. 

"What's wrong?" she asked as she stepped closer.

They cleared a path and Yuna gasped at what she saw. 

"No!" Yuna shook her head in disbelief, "Not again!" She ran to Tidus, taking his hand and pulling him out the door.

The others stood there and watched them run out, not exactly sure what to do. Rikku put her hands to her cheeks and hoped that Yuna knew what to do. She'd figured out when she saw Tidus disappearing that what Yuna had been up to must have had to do with this.

@_)--------------

Okay, I'm gonna stop there… Semi-cliff hanger! Dun dun duuuuuun! Hope you enjoy and all that good stuff. Reviewers rock! Woohoo! Yea…

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	8. Delve Into My Thoughts

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Being Grownup…

Okay, I noticed after I re-read chapter seven that I left it off at sort of an odd point so I decided I'd get started right away with chapter eight… It's 2:35 in the morning and I am not the least bit tired right now… So, here we go. J 

Well… now it's 2:36, but anyway… ^.^

A/N - I am skipping a _lot_ of significant stuff in Yuna's case with this story, so you'll probably be confused with all the disappearing stuff and pretty much anything happening with Yuna. All questions are answered, however, in _The End, With You_, if you haven't read it. If you have "Yay!" for you and if you haven't, you should… and you should also R&R… okay, I'll stop plugging my other story now, I promise! ^.^

****

A/N again - This is a short chapter and it's all from Rikku's POV, sort of like an excerpt from her diary or something. The next chapters aren't gonna be like this, they'll be third-person again. I just wanted to try this out for a change.

And another thing… if I have Rikku and Gippal's past stuff off, I'm sorry… I dunno… blah!

@_)--------------

Ch. 8_Delve Into My Thoughts_

And I was right, all that mess with Tidus disappearing and whatnot had everything to do with why Yunie was acting so strange. She even told the whole story to us after the fact. Something about the Fayth returning and a Jewel or whatever, and Macalania was significant, but that's another story.

Baralai healed fine. A couple days after Paine showed up he was even up on his feet and walking around. And the doctors thought he was gonna die. Ha! They don't know Paine like I do! She'd never let a good friend die if she could help it.

Now I'm back here in Besaid with Yunie and Tidus, living that simple life again, itching to get out of here and go on another adventure… I can't help it! It's my nature. Paine stayed in Bevelle and she and Baralai are together, no matter how much she denies it. I knew it was him all along. Woohoo! 

And, of course, the couple who are the talk of the town, and all of Spira for that matter, are still together and happy as ever. Tidus and Yunie, they make such a perfect couple sometimes it just irks me. But I'm happy for them, though. They're getting married in about a year. It's all way too incredible to describe. They've made it through so much, they deserve each other.

And then there's Wakka and Lulu with their new adorable little addition. They've been together for awhile now, against all odds if I do say so myself.

All these couples… it makes me think, ya know? They all have people to go home to that greet them with warm smiles… people to cuddle up to… people to love… but who do I have? I've never missed that damned Gippal so much in my life. Him and his cocky, superficial attitude. But, I know the real guy, not just that stuck-up version. He held me once, ya know? Whispered sweet meaningless stuff into my ear and made me believe it. I usually don't go for that lovey-dovey crap, but somehow I believed all those great things he said to me. Damn I wish I didn't miss him so much.

I still cry a lot, at night when there's no one around to hear. I just get to thinking about how great everyone else's lives are and how, I know I have a pretty great life too, but where's my shoulder to cry on? Everyone here thinks I only cry when I'm afraid. But, I don't have anything to be afraid of except for the prospect of being alone for the rest of my life. And yes, world! I do use big words like "prospect." Dumb blonde, my ass. I'll show you who's a dumb blonde…

I'm tired of them all scoffing my tears, calling me a wimp, thinking I'm too immature to get stuff. But, then again, I can't help but wonder if he just used that as an excuse. Dammit! Why does my brain always wander back to him? I'm tired of thinking of him! But, what if it was all just a big excuse? Then where would I be? It's time to set some things straight… I gotta go see a boy about a past! Later!

*~Rikku~*

@_)--------------

Woohoo! Chapter eight! From now on it's gonna be all Rikku all the time. It should get more… understandable from here on in and I'll probably be able to write it easier now… Rock on!!

A/N - 2:58 ^.^… Took me all of 22 minutes to write, if even that long. I like this chapter, if I do say so myself. Well, what do you think?

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	9. Confrontation and Destruction

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Being Grownup…

Chapter nine! Woohoo! I'm just shooting these chapters outta my little brain aren't I? 'Tis 3:57 AM on April 10th, 2004... And I am as awake as I shall ever be, I believe. I must get this idea out of my head before I forget… 'Tis bugging the living Jell-o outta me… yes, there is living Jell-o inside of me. Usually me and the Jell-o are very good friends, but today it decided to be snippety… _Disclaimer: I don't own the Jell-o company or any of it's products (except for those pack of Jell-o I bought from the grocery store a while ago that are sitting in my cupboard collecting dust.) _*sings* I don't want you to give it all up and leave your own life collecting dust… _Disclaimer: I do not own Hoobastank. _Okay, onto the story… _Disclaimer: I do not own a mind right now, because I seem to have lost it somewhere between chapter eight and right now…_ Peace, love, and nice crispy bacon!

Now, onto the story! After one more _Disclaimer: I do not own that line about "nice crispy bacon." To all those LOTR savvy people, you should know it belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien. Go him!_

@_)--------------

Ch. 9_Confrontation and Destruction_

Rikku stepped off the bridge to Djose Temple and curled her toes in the dirt. Her bare feet liked the cool feeling of it. She wasn't sure exactly why she'd decided to go barefoot today. She was also rather covered up, compared to some of her other outfits. The breeze blew lightly rustling her white tank top and her yellow corduroy skirt that reached just above her ankles itched the back of her thigh. She scratched the offending itch and let out a sigh. Gippal had always loved this skirt on her, she didn't know exactly why.

_But will he remember how much he loved it? _she wondered and she stared up at the Temple. Today it seemed much bigger than usual. It looked as if it was about to lift itself out of its stony hole and walk towards her, step on her, crush her.

She took another brave step forward and another and another until finally she had reached the door of Djose temple.

"State your business," a rather mean looking guard glared at her suspiciously.

"I… uh," she laughed nervously, "I came to see Gippal. I'm an old friend."

"Name?" he said loud and forcefully.

"R-Rikku…" she stuttered, wondering why it mattered whether or not he knew her name. It's not like anyone knew she was coming.

"Oh, it's you. The boss has been expecting you. Go on in," he said, easing up a little and backing off.

"Me? Why is he expecting me?" she looked bewildered but the guard only shrugged.

"Take it up with him, little girl."

Rikku gritted her teeth. There were those two ugly words again. She stomped angrily into the Temple and was greeted by a female technician she'd met once before.

"Hi, Rikku," Randya greeted her with a sunny smile.

"Hey," Rikku replied and looked around anxiously.

"Looking for Gippal?" the other girl said with a sly smirk, "Yea, he's up in his room. He's been waiting for you. Said you'd be coming along any day now."

Rikku was now baffled beyond all reason. Why would Gippal have been expecting her? It was like he was a mind reader all of a sudden. Like, he knew all the things that had been going on inside her head. Maybe he'd been going through the same torture…

"He lives in here now?" Rikku asked, not knowing the exact significance of the question. She hadn't expected this and was uneasy about having the conversation she had been prepared to have in his bedroom. Something about that just didn't seem right.

Randya kindly pointed Rikku in the right direction and she made her way up the stairs and into his room. She stood at the door hesitantly, not sure whether to knock or run. She'd been so hasty in making the decision to come here that now she wasn't sure if it had been the right one.

Her hand was poised to knock and she was about to bring her fist down when the door flew open, smacking her right in the forehead. She fell against the far wall and held her face in her hands.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, owiee!!!" Rikku whimpered.

Gippal ran to her not realizing who it was he'd just hit, "Oh! Geez, I'm sorry! I didn't know you were there. Are you alright?"

She uncovered her face and looked up at him as a tear fell down her cheek.

"Rikku? What are you doing here?" he asked and then shook his head, dismissing the question, "Forget that… are you alright? That sounded like it hurt."

"I'm okay, it doesn't matter. Look, we need to talk," she lowered her eyes and smoothed down her skirt with one hand as she pressed the red and throbbing spot on her head with the other.

"I know, I thought you'd show up sooner or later. Do you need some ice?"

She shook her head, "I'm fine."

"They've tightened security around here since the thing with Baralai so I had to tell them to let you in if you came around. But, I didn't really expect you so soon, I mean, you just got back to Besaid the other day. And like this. You look so different. More…" he searched for the perfect word.

"Mature?" Rikku offered and he nodded. Finally, she realized the reason he liked that skirt. "And speaking of me coming here. How'd you know?"

"I figured after that thing at Bevelle you'd come here to start something. And, what do ya know? I was right," Gippal smirked and crossed his arms, bringing one leg up to his knee and balancing there.

"Look, macho-man, I didn't come here to start anything. Believe it or not, I came here to apologize," she lowered her eyes again.

"Apologize," his mouth and leg dropped at the same time, "for what?"

"For being so immature and childish all this time. I didn't realized how unattractive it made me, ya know? Until a few days ago I didn't realize it was that that was making people push me away and I wanted to say thank you for making me realize and apologize for my behavior," she finished and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Well, uh," he hesitated and scratched the back of his head, "I gotta say, I'm surprised, but Rikku… I also have to tell you something."

He took another step towards her and she crossed her arms across her chest protectively. She wasn't prepared for anything that was about to come out of his mouth, no matter how good or bad. She wasn't ready for this. She wanted more than anything to run away right now, but she didn't have anywhere to go. Gippal was to one side of her, a dead end to the other. She felt trapped, unable to breath. Panic was inching its way up her spine and her breathing was becoming labored. It was right then that she realized just how claustrophobic she was.

"Rikku, it wasn't the immaturity or whatever that made me so… against you having a crush on me. This is hard to explain, but do you remember a couple of years ago with Dreka?" Rikku nodded solemnly and he continued, "I guess I was still sore from what you did and, I mean, you never apologized, so what am I suppose to think. But, it's in the past I guess, so it doesn't matter."

"And Paine?" Rikku breathed, "What about her?"

"That… I did like Paine. But, you know, you can get blinded by stuff sometimes. Like, things that happen in the past can effect your future judgment or something like that. Am I making any sense here, cause I don't feel like I am," Gippal kicked at the carpet, his eyes turned downward.

"Yea. But, I don't quite get what your saying," she said, dropping her arms to her sides, becoming a little more at ease with the situation.

"What I'm trying to say is--"

Rikku cut him off suddenly, "Wait! Before you say another word, since you brought up the Dreka thing, I just wanted to tell you how incredibly sorry I am for that whole thing and I didn't know what I was doing at the time and I know that Dreka was one of your good friends and in doing what I did it cost you a friend and a girlfriend and with losing that girlfriend you also lost another friend and I just wanted to tell you that no matter what you think you weren't the only one who lost something that night. I lost something too. I lost the best thing that ever happened to me and I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for screwing things up for you and even though you're better off without me I'm so lost without you. I have been for so long and I just wanted to let you know that and say that I'm really, REALLY sorry and I hope you accept my apology."

"Geez, take a breath," Gippal said, and chuckled nervously, "Look, can I talk for one second?"

Rikku laughed and nodded, "Only if it's important."

"Yea, it is," he started, "Rikku, I--"

"Sir!" one of the guards ran in and saluted Gippal, "Sir, there's been news of a Yevonite extremist sighting somewhere not far from here. Evidently wants to get revenge on all the opposing sides. We require your immediate assistance."

"Right, I'll be out in a sec," the guard exited and Gippal turned back to Rikku, "Hey, duty calls. But, this can wait, kay?"

"Yea, I guess," Rikku rolled her eye, "But I thought it was important."

"It is, but right now I got business. This could be serious. Go find Randya and get out of here, okay? This could get ugly and I don't want you to get hurt," he smirked.

Rikku tossed her hair, "Me? Hurt? Please! I can take care of myself."

BOOM! The walls of the temple shook as an explosion erupted outside. Rikku squealed and grabbed onto Gippal. He put his arms around her and they went to their knees, him shielding her from the debris falling from the ceiling.

Gippal stood and brought Rikku up with him, leading her down the stairs and into the main level of the temple. He ran to Randya and the girl promptly saluted him.

"Randya, I need you to take Rikku away from here. Keep her safe. Don't let anything happen to her, got it?" Gippal shouted over more rumbling.

Randya nodded and started towards one of the temple rooms, "Follow me, Rikku."

Rikku hesitated before leaving and turned to Gippal, "But, what about you?"

"Hey, all be alright," he gave her a reassuring smile then quickly turned it into a smirk, "Business is business, baby."

With that he ran off. Rikku followed Randya into the room and the technician pressed a small button on the far wall. A teleport pad appeared in the center of the room. Randya instructed the other girl to get on. The two teleported out of the building and into a cave of some sort.

"Where are we?" Rikku asked, looked around in confusion.

"Safe…" was Randya's only reply.

"How long do we have to stay here?" she began to tap her foot impatiently.

"We don't. We'll leave the cave as soon as the others get here," Randya leaned against a cavern wall.

"The others?" Rikku raised an eyebrow and suddenly another body appeared on the teleport pad.

More and more came in until the little space they were in was quite crowded. They were all there, technicians, guards, healers, everyone…. Everyone but Gippal.

@_)--------------

Ooo! Another cliff-hanger! So, do you hate me yet! *laughs manically* Ehem… anyway, hope everyone enjoyed. See, Gippal didn't _stay_ a jerk, and he did have a valid reason to be one in the beginning. Tell me what ya think. Reviewers ROCK! 

'Tis now 4:58. Didn't take me long to write this either… I just had to get it off my brain before I could sleep. Toodles for now. Rock on!

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	10. Of Greetings and Goodbyes

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Being Grownup…

Um… okay, I'm at a loss for words. That is strange. You know what… this is chapter ten and I just realized after I posted chapter nine that I never put up a disclaimer… so… here's my _Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or places except Dreka and Randya or any other random character that pops up along the way that you've never heard of before._

So, there's my disclaimer finally… I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying this now. Here we go again…

@_)--------------

Ch. 10_Of Greetings and Goodbyes_

Rikku paced back and forth watching the teleport pad impatiently, waiting for any sign of Gippal. Randya put a hand on her shoulder to stop her momentarily.

"He'll be alright, Rikku," the other girl assured her.

Rikku nodded and continued to pace, her eyes to the ground. Just then light shot out from the teleport pad. Rikku stopped where she was and watched as a man appeared and the light died down. _Please let it be Gippal, _Rikku clasped her hands together and hoped up and down anxiously. But when the light died down it was just another warrior. He ran quickly over to Randya and saluted her.

"Where's the boss?" Randya asked and saluted back.

"He's on his way, but he said to get going without him. He said you were in charge for the time being," he informed her.

"Right," Randya nodded and went to the front, getting everyone's attention, "Captain Gippal is on his way, but we've just been ordered to leave without him. He'll be here as soon as possible. But, for now, let's move out!"

Everyone began to gather their things and head out of the cave. But Rikku wasn't satisfied. Before Randya could go, Rikku caught her by the shoulder.

"Wait. We're not just gonna leave him out there, are we? How can you be so sure he sent that message," tears were pulling at the back of Rikku's eyes.

"Are you saying I should doubt the word of one of our men?" Randya said with a biting tone.

"No, I'm just saying it's not right to leave Gippal like that," Rikku was getting more and more desperate, "I mean, he's your Captain. You can't just leave him behind. What if he gets hurt?"

"We have our orders."

"Fine, but I'm not part of this Faction so I don't have to follow your stupid orders. I'm going back to find him!" Rikku stomped her foot and clenched her fists at her sides.

"I have specific orders from the boss himself to keep you safe. Now, come on," she grabbed Rikku by the arm and dragged her towards the exit.

"No!" Rikku cried and tried to struggle out of the other girl's grasp, "Let me go! I've gotta help him! You don't get it! He needs me!"

"Like a hole in the head! All you're gonna do is get in his way. Trust me, he knows what he's doing!" Randya pulled harder on the blonde's arm.

"LET… ME… GO!!!" Rikku screamed and gave one last yank, finally pulling herself free. She ran towards the teleport pad as fast as her legs would carry her, with Randya right on her tail. She stepped onto the teleport pad.

Nothing happened…

Rikku jumped up and down ferociously, "What's wrong?! What's going on? Why isn't it working?"

"I… I don't know," Randya faltered, "This pad should be in perfect working order. I don't know. The only thing that could be wrong is that the other teleport pad has been destroyed."

Rikku's eyes widened, "Destroyed? What do you mean? You mean, Gippal can't get here?"

The other girl nodded and Rikku shook her head.

"No… then, what are we supposed to do? We have to go get him."

"And we will, just as soon as we get out of here. But for now, calm down and come with us, okay? You'll be fine and we'll save Gippal. Don't worry," Randya put a comforting hand on Rikku's shoulder, "Will you come with us?"

"I don't see what choice I have," Rikku lowered her eyes and with that they two girls sat off to catch up with the others.

@_)--------------

Once out of the cave Rikku immediately persisted in demanding they go save Gippal. But it was to no avail. No one would listen to her. They were tending to the wounded and busy with their own problems, discussing the seriousness of the attack and who may have been behind it.

None of this mattered to Rikku, however. She was worried only about one person. She was determined to save Gippal, after all, he still had to tell her whatever it was that was so important. Rikku ran to Randya and tapped her on the shoulder. Randya turned, tears falling from her eyes.

"Randya, what's wrong?" Rikku asked, suspecting the worst.

"We just got a call from Djose Temple. The boss has been… kidnapped."

Rikku gasped, "Kidnapped? What do you mean kidnapped? By who?"

"We're not sure, but they're asking for a load of ransom. They're not just asking for Gil. They want machina and supplies and all sorts of stuff that we don't have. We don't know what to do. He left us his own transmission too. Here," Randya handed the other girl a comsphere, "You can listen to it on your own if you want. It's mostly for you anyway."

Rikku walked solemnly towards a tiny cave that was seemingly cut off from the rest of civilization. There she sat, with trembling hands, and pressed the button to start the comsphere. The light flickered and cast an eerie blue glow onto Rikku's pensive face. The picture began to play. Gippal sat under a table, explosions erupting in the background. He had to shout to be heard.

"Hey, kiddo!" he yelled and smiled into the sphere, "This is gonna be a lot easier to say over the comsphere. I'd tell you in person but I don't think I'm gonna make it out of here. It's worse than we expected and I don't have long so I might as well get this out. I… heh… this is harder to say than I expected… I love you, kiddo. I really do, and I have. I mean, if I didn't I wouldn't have been so mad when you cheated on me, you know? Whatever happens to me, I just want you to forget, okay? Don't come after me. I'm not worth you getting hurt. So just, stay put. That goes to all my men, too. Make sure they know that I don't wanna be saved. If this is the way I'm gonna go, then that's how it's gonna be. I love you, Rikku."

Gippal laughed out loud, "There, I said it!"

Just then two men ran up behind him in the picture and overturned the table, "Shit! This is it baby. I'm going out with a bang!" One of the men reached for the comsphere… then there was nothing but black. A tear fell onto the dead screen. If Gippal knew her at all he'd know she'd never just leave him. He wasn't the only person in the world that could play the hero and no matter what he said, he was worth getting hurt for. He was worth more than that, and it was about time she let him know it…

@_)--------------

Damn… I know, short. But I ran out of ideas. ^.^ Not really. I mean, I think I know what's gonna happen, but I need to continue in a different chapter. Besides, it's about 11:07 PM right now and I need to get to sleep. Well, that's all for now. Thanks to all muh reviewers!! I love you guys! J !!!

A/N - The title of this chapter is the name of an AFI song… _Disclaimer: I don't own AFI… only Davey Havok._

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	11. Reunion Time!

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Being Grownup…

Hello… sorry I made you wait longer than I intended to. I have obligations after school now. I'm gonna be in the musical we're having at school, _Guys and Dolls._ I have a horribly shitty part, but being backstage is more fun anyway. There are hot guys that like to be bitten. *wink wink* ^.^ What? You didn't hear that from me… no, Ena is a good girl! Anyway… -.-'… onto the story, yes?

@_)--------------

Ch. 11_Reunion Time!_

"Yunie!" Rikku yelled as she burst into her cousin's hut.

All Rikku heard in response was a loud screech from Yuna then a loud thud as a blanket was thrown over her head and everything went black.

"Ack! What the hell?" Rikku pawed at the blanket trying to find the light again, "Yunie, what's going on."

That's when she realized what she walked in on.

"Yunie!" Rikku's hands flew to her face, which was still concealed under the blanket, "It's the middle of the day!"

"We, uh… we weren't doing anything!" Yuna stammered as she tried to regain her clothes and her composure.

"Are you decent yet?" Rikku said through another giggle.

"Um, almost." Rikku could hear the blush in Yuna's voice. "Okay, now we're decent."

Rikku tossed the blanket off and before her stood Yuna, fully clothed, but, "Where's Ti?"

Tidus peeked his head up from behind the bed and gave a nervous grin, "I… uh, I fell…"

"Very smooth," the Al Bhed girl placed a hand on her hip, "But, Yunie, if it's not too much trouble I really have to speak to you and Paine."

"What? Why?" Yuna asked, befuddled. _(Befuddled is a funny word! ^.^… O.o… okay, I'll shut up now…)_

"I really need to talk to the two of you together," Rikku hopped up and down to emphasize her urgency, "It will only take a ride to Bevelle and a few minutes to explain. PLEASE Yunie?"

"I don't know, Rikku," Yuna hesitated, "I mean, we just got back."

"But," Rikku's lip began to quiver, "You have no idea how important this is."

"I wish you'd just tell me," Yuna sighed.

"I can't," the other girl insisted, "I need to tell Paine, too. And it needs to be a group thing. Otherwise… oh, I don't know. I just would really rather tell both of you together. Please Yuna… this is _really, really_ important."

"Wait… did you just call me Yuna?" she raised an eyebrow at the blonde, "Either this is really important or you're starting to grow up."

"Grow up? Me? Never!" Rikku said, regaining her equanimity a little, "It's just, this is really important news I have and I need to tell you as soon as possible. It's a matter of life and death."

Yuna giggled, not knowing the truth behind the other girl's words, "Alright already. I'll go, but you promise it won't take long?"

"I promise," Rikku crossed her heart.

Rikku exited the hut waiting for Yuna to get her things together and say goodbye to Tidus. _At least, the first part won't take long._

@_)--------------

__

Later, In Bevelle…

"So, what's so incredibly urgent you had to take me away from target practice?" Paine asked with an impatient tone.

"Yea, what's the big news?" Yuna questioned and plopped down in a big chair across from Rikku, who was lounging on the couch inside Paine's new room, which was located where else but inside Baralai's house.

"Well…" Rikku began, searching for the right way to continue, "After we got back to Besaid, I decided I needed to set some things straight with Gippal."

"Oh, for crying out loud," Paine rolled her eyes, "Not more complaining about Gippal." 

The ruby eyed warrior began to walk away but Rikku bounded off the couch and grabbed her before she could reach the door.

"Wait! It's not like that," Rikku said, quickly letting go of Paine's arm as to not agitate her further, "Just listen. I promise, it's not anything like that."

Paine began to take another step towards the door, not sure whether to stay or go. But, finally, she stepped back away from the door, and sat herself in a chair to hear the rest of Rikku's tale.

"I went to Djose. I got there and everyone had already been expecting me. This really confused me, ya know? So I went up to his room and I wasn't sure right off if I should knock on his door. I was about to when BOOM! The door flew open and hit me right in the head," she flailed her arms to depict the scene and brought a smile and a few laughs from Yuna. Paine even let a little chuckle escape her mouth. 

"So, anyway, he came running up," this she also emphasized with weird and exaggerated motions, "And he was like, 'Are you okay, are you okay?' And I'm like, 'Yea, I'm fine.' Then he's all like 'You look mature. Do you need some ice? I figured you'd come back to start something' or whatever. And I go, 'I did not, I came to apologize for being immature and to thank you for making me realize that's what was making people push me away.' And he was all like, 'I have to tell you something. It wasn't the immaturity it was when you cheated on me.' Don't worry, I'll explain that later if you want. Anyway, then I was like, 'And Paine?' And he's like, 'I liked her, but…' I don't remember. He said something about being blind. But, that's not the point. 

"The point is he said he had something to tell me and then a guard came up before he could and there were explosions and everybody had to evacuate on this teleport pad and we were in this cave and everyone came except Gippal and they were like, 'We got orders from the boss saying to leave him behind.' And of course, I'm like, 'You're fucking crazy!' 

"Then this Randya girl tried to force me to leave but I got on the teleport pad anyway to try to go back but nothing happened and she said that meant it'd been broken on the other end and I freaked, but I left with them anyway. Then we got to the place out of the cave and a while later she gave me this sphere."

Rikku took a much needed breath and retrieved the sphere from her pocket. She clicked it on and the message began to play. They other two girls moved in closer to watch. When it was over, Rikku finished her story.

"They said he'd been kidnapped. And the reason I wanted to talk to you guys is cause I really need your help. You know, and he should to, that I'm not just gonna leave him there. And YRP doesn't abandon their friends, right?" Rikku was hopeful but unsure.

"You've got to be kidding me," Paine said flatly.

"What do you mean kidding? Do I sound like I'm kidding to you?" Rikku's voice rose and became shrill with worry.

Yuna rose from her seat, "I think Rikku's right, Paine. Gippal's in trouble and since when have we ever forgotten a friend in need?" 

Paine narrowed her eyes, "Gippal knows what he's doing. He can get himself out of this mess. Besides, you heard him. He doesn't want anyone to come after him."

"You also heard what he said to me! He told me he loved me! I have to save him so…" Rikku blushed, "So I can tell him I feel the same way, ya know?"

"And besides!" Yuna perked up, "It means probably having to infiltrate a secret building and there may be explosives and lots of dangerous weapons and people to go up against. I mean, it would take a real warrior for this one. And who's a real warrior if you're not one, Paine?"

This peeked Paine's interest, yet she sighed in exasperation to hide it, "Alright. Fine, we'll save Gippal. It's about time YRP had a reunion anyway."

@_)--------------

Sorry it took a day or two… and this one was kind of short too. But they'll probably get longer from here on in. Maybe, possibly, conceivably, perhaps, perchance, plausibly… I don't know… _(Don't you just love the thesaurus?)_ With theater practice I probably will have less time to post, with more time to write in between… during classes… *menacing grin* ^.^

Oh, and aren't you glad Rikku's not going to grow up after all? ^.^ 

*Does best Walter Cronkite _(how in the world do you spell Cronkite?)_ expression* Well, until next time, this has been Rikku's story. I'm your host Ena, and that's the end of that chapter.

~*~Ena**Kurohoshi**Raine~*~


	12. Unhappy Memories

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Being Grownup…

This took longer than I first intended, but I've been busy with school and writing on a screenplay that I've been working on for a couple years now. It's almost finished and I'm ecstatic! *^.^* But, at least I've finally gotten back to you nice peeps. Now onto the story…

@_)--------------

Ch. 12_Unhappy Memories_

Rikku laid in bed that night tossing and turning. They were leaving tomorrow to survey the destruction at Djose and Rikku couldn't help but think the curse had returned, and it was driving her up the wall. Things had gotten better again. She'd finally gotten up the nerve to go and talk to Gippal and he'd sounded like he had forgiven her and then BOOM! Another bombshell, only this time, literally.

And what about the comsphere? She turned her head to face the dresser on which it sat, the screen black and empty. She reached over and placed a hand on it's cool surface. His words replayed in her mind. 

__

"I love you, Rikku."

Should she believe him, or was it just his attempt to set things right? He did, after all, seem to think he wasn't going to make it through. She picked up the comsphere and sat up, staring into the dark abyss of the glass. Her finger traced a circle around the On button. She was tempted to press it, but was unsure if she could deal with seeing the scene again.

She decided to watch it anyway. She had to hear those words again, just for reassurance. Her finger pushed the button and the room around her was bathed in the same eerie blue light as before. The scene played over again. She started intently at his lips as they formed those four words that were so special to her.

His laugh resounded through the sphere and Rikku felt the familiar pull of tears at the back of her eyes. She watched the two men run onto the screen and take her love away, take away everything that had ever meant anything to her. These men, they had ruined what could have been the best day of her life. They would pay…

@_)--------------

That night Rikku watched the comsphere over and over until she had memorized every action, every word. She paid close attention to what the men were wearing and once noticed something very peculiar about one of Gippal's captors, that might not have seemed that strange to anyone else. 

They were wearing masks so their faces were concealed but when she looked closely at one man's wrist she noticed a small tattoo of a phoenix. She knew she had seen that tattoo somewhere before and she was determined to find out where.

@_)--------------

The next day YRP awoke early, got their stuff together, and immediately headed out. Rikku was in no mood for delays. They arrived promptly at Djose, thanks to Brother and Buddy, who were now convinced that the three would never retire from being heroes, and happy about it too.

Rikku stepped of the bridge to Djose much like she had the previous day, except instead of looking up to marvel at the Temple's humungous structure, she was forced to look down at all the ruin and wreckage, scattered about the ground that spread out in front of her. She could hardly believe that just a day ago this debris had been what loomed above her, threateningly, ready to crush her.

_It almost did crush me, _she thought, _If Gippal hadn't made me get out of there, I might be dead right now._

Her eyelashes matted together with the tears that brimmed to the edge of her eyes, but weren't quite big enough to fall. Paine and Yuna had already made their way closer to the ruins of Djose.

_The Djose Ruins, _she thought solemnly, _that's what they're gonna call this place from now on. They'll build a big statue of Gippal right in the middle for his bravery in combat and giving up his life so his people wouldn't have to pay off the bad guys._

"Rikku?" Yuna interrupted her thoughts, "What are you waiting for?"

_Another bomb to drop, but right on my head this time, _Rikku frowned as she shuffled over to where Paine and Rikku stood looking down at the ground.

"What do you suppose this is?" Paine questioned as Rikku bent down to get a closer look.

On the ground was a pendant with the same phoenix that the man in the comsphere bore on his wrist. Rikku got that tingling sense of familiarity once again.

"I know that symbol," Rikku breathed through gritted teeth, "I've seen it somewhere before but I don't remember where. One of the guys on the comsphere had a tattoo that looked just like it."

"Do you think it's some kind of company or organization or something?" Paine inquired.

"No, it seems like I knew somebody a long time ago… like, I think I may have known the guy with the tattoo at one time. But," Rikku crinkled her forehead in frustration, "My memories are really cloudy. I have a hard time remembering stuff like that for some reason."

"Just try harder," Yuna urged, "Maybe you'll remember soon."

"I disagree," Paine shook her head, "The harder you try to remember something the harder it is to remember it. It's best to get it off your mind, then it'll come to you out of nowhere."

"You think so?" Rikku took the pendant from the ground and stood, looking at Paine with a confused expression.

Paine nodded in response.

"So, should we look around some more?" Yuna crossed her arms, "I don't like it here. It's depressing."

"Yea, Yunie's right. Let's go to Luca for lunch. Maybe that'll help me get my mind off of things," Rikku said and headed away from the fallen Temple as fast as she could.

@_)--------------

YRP sat at an outdoor café munching on sandwiches and discussing what could be done to help Gippal. Taking the break had done nothing to keep Rikku from thinking about the man with the tattoo. She had a strange feeling about him.

Suddenly, in mid-bite of her sandwich, the realization struck her. She dropped the sandwich onto her plate and started blankly at nothing, mouth gapping open.

"Rikku?" Yuna snapped her fingers in front of her cousin's face, bringing Rikku out of her stat of shock, "Rikku what's wrong?"

"I… I just remembered where I've seen that tattoo before," Rikku blinked and lowered her eyes.

@_)--------------

__

Two Years Earlier…

Rikku laid back on her bed staring towards the picture of her and Gippal on her bedside table. She rolled over and slammed the picture down so he couldn't watch what she was about to do.

There was a light knock on the door and she stood to answer it. Dreka stood there, leaning against the doorframe, looking as arrogant and sexy as ever. He winked at her and stepped into the room.

"Hey, babe. How's it going?" he asked, the cockiness resounding in his voice.

Rikku giggled childishly and blushed, "Not too bad. How about you?"

"I'm just fine," he smirked and sat down on her bed, "And about to get a lot better, I think."

She giggled again and tossed her hair behind her shoulder. She closed the door and leaned against it seductively. He stood back up and crossed over to her. Rikku suddenly felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she glanced at the overturned picture on her dresser.

Dreka stood against her now, his green eyes staring intensely into her, his finger tracing her side, making her tremble. He caressed her face with his palm and she raised her face, eyes closed, welcoming his kiss. He lowered his lips to hers and they began an intricate game of lip wrestling.

Their kisses became more passionate and their actions more desperate. Rikku had never imagined going this far with any guy besides Gippal and the more she thought about him the harder it became to do this. But, when Dreka, the most sought after guy she knew, had inquired about her romantic status and suggested they spend an evening together, how could she refuse.

She erased the thoughts of Gippal from her mind, trailing her fingers down to the bottom hem of his shirt. She lifted it up and over his head, revealing his finely-toned, beautifully tanned chest. She looked it over for a minute, trying to memorize each tantalizing ripple.

Down near his hip, a small tattoo hid itself under the waistband of his shorts. Rikku brought her finger to pull the cloth of his shorts down, exposing the rest of the tattoo. A tiny phoenix, completely black, sat perched there, wings stretched out to full length. It was small, yet powerful and Rikku loved it.

@_)--------------

__

Back to the Present…

"Dreka…" Rikku sighed. She remembered how horrible she had felt after that night was out and grimaced down at her sandwich. "It was Dreka. He had that tattoo. I'll never forget it."

"Who's Dreka?" Paine raised an eyebrow.

"The guy I cheated on Gippal with," Rikku leaned her head on her hand and shielded her eyes, a headache suddenly attacking.

"Well, do you know what he does now?" Yuna inquired.

"He runs a business. Somewhere in Bevelle, I think," Rikku rubbed her temples.

"Okay, so let's look him up and check him out," Yuna said encouragingly and patted Rikku on the back.

"I don't know," the Al Bhed girl looked up with worried eyes, "If I just show up one day out of the blue and accuse him of kidnapping Gippal, he may have me shot. We didn't exactly end things on good grounds."

"You don't have anything to worry about," Paine reassured her, "You've got us behind you. So, if they shoot you, we'll know we need to run."

Rikku laughed and punched Paine playfully on the shoulder, "Not if I use you as a shield!"

They sat for a little while longer discussing what needed to be done and how to go about approaching the situation without Rikku hypothetically being shot and the other two having to run to the hills. After a while, a decision had been made and they got up to leave. Just then, a man passed by with a large box in tow. He nodded kindly to the girls and switched the box to his other arm.

In that instant Rikku's heart stopped as she caught a glimpse of the man's wrist. There was that same tattoo. The phoenix, with spread wings. Rikku continued to stare as the man walked on, convinced she must have been boring a hole in his back with her eyes. His jacket had the same phoenix symbol on it and above it were bold white letters against a black background.

**"DREKA OTAREAN AGENCIES"**

__

And below the phoenix were the companies initials in smaller letters, but just as foreboding as the letters above…

**"D.O.A."**

@_)--------------

Okay, that is it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed and I am severely sorry for keeping you waiting so very, very long. This was a somewhat longer chapter to make up for it.


	13. Disappearing Act

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Being Grownup…

Wow… it has been so very long since I posted on this. But, I wasn't getting many reviews, so I stopped. I had a good day today though, which put me in a writing mood, so here we go. Let's see if I can pick up where I left off…

)--------------

Ch. 13 _Disappearing Act_

Rikku felt her heart rise to her throat and she swallowed loudly. She had to figure out what was going on. She considered saving Gippal her responsibility, since his Faction was obviously not going to do anything. She walked briskly up to the man with the box and smiled innocently.

"Hi there!" she peeped cheerily.

"Hello," he replied with a smile, which was mostly hidden by his bushy moustache.

"I'm Rikku, what's your name?" she continued as they walked. Paine and Yuna followed a ways behind.

"I'm Len, how's it going?"

"Oh just great! So, whatchya got in the box?" she smiled again, as if completely clueless to the world.

Len's demeanor shifted from carefree, to nervous, "Oh, you know, just some supplies for a local company."

"Oh really? What company?" Rikku continued to prod.

"Umm… I don't know, I'm just a delivery guy, I'm really not supposed to discuss the stuff I deliver."

"Hmm… well, okay then. I'm outta here," Rikku waved and made her way back over to Paine and Yuna.

"Did you find anything out?" Yuna asked anxiously.

"Just that there's definitely something fishy going on. He got really nervous when I asked what was in the box," Rikku stroked her chin, deep in thought, "What could he be delivering… and to where…?"

"Why are you asking such a dumb question. We don't know," Paine rolled her eyes.

"It was a rhetorical question, meany," Rikku stuck her tongue out in Paine's direction.

"Wow, you use a big word like rhetorical and for a second we think you might have grown up… then you stick your tongue out. Real mature," the warrior crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow.

"I don't have to be mature. I am loved," Rikku grinned wide then realized how far away the man with the box had gotten, "Oh no! He's getting away! We have to follow him!"

"Well, we better run, he's about to turn the corner," Yuna pointed out.

"Oh nooo!" Rikku ran after him, followed by Yuna and the still reluctant Paine.

They got to the corner and turned it, but all they found there was an empty alleyway.

"What? Where did he go?" the blonde searched high and low for a door or window or anything, "There's nowhere he could have gone. What the hell happened?"

She balled her fists and began to jump up and down in frustration, "Damn it. Damn it! DAMN IT!"

Suddenly, the ground shifted beneath her feet. It sunk in a small circle and came back up as a panel in a nearby wall shifted and a passageway opened up.

"Oh, check it out! How much do I rock?!" Rikku grinned cockily.

"Haha, I thought opposites were supposed to attract. You're just like Gippal," Paine mused.

"I take that as a compliment," Rikku grinned, her green eyes sparkling with mischief, "Now let's get going."

The three made their way into the passage and the wall immediately closed behind them.

"I certainly hope there's an easier way to get out than there is to get in," Yuna laid her palm flat on the door.

"I'm sure there's some way, but we don't have time for that now. We've gotta find that guy," Rikku whispered and grabbed Yuna's arm, pulling her along the passageway, Paine close behind.

"Do you think there are fiends here?" Rikku asked to whoever was listening.

"I doubt it, if this is some kind of business or something," came Paine's answer.

"Fiends? There aren't any fiends in the corridors, ladies," a voice called through speakers on the walls.

"Who was that?" Yuna's eyes widened.

"You must know who this is, Rikku," the voice seemed to darken, "Surely you haven't forgotten me. It's only been two years."

Rikku gasped.

"Well, who is it, Rikku?" Paine questioned uneasily.

"It can't be… but it sounds like… Dreka?"

The voice over the intercom laughed demonically, "Bingo, baby! And you just stepped into my trap."

)--------------

Cliffhanger! Dun dun duuuuum! Okay, I'm sorry this is really REALLY short, but I just want to know if anyone still reads this little fan-fic of mine… I'll write another chapter tomorrow when I get home from my b/f's house. Thanks for reading ppls!

The long absent… ENAKurohoshiRAINE


	14. Enemy Territory

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Being Grownup

High! Back again! I had another great day and the three reviews I've gotten so far just made my day that much better! BIG grin Thanks to those three that reviewed. I'm hoping many more will once I get on a roll again. Anyway, happy reading! -

)--------------

Ch. 14_Enemy Territory_

All of a sudden the bottom dropped out from beneath their feet and they began to fall. Rikku and Yuna screamed, and Paine let out a long string of choice four-letter words. They didn't fall long, but when they did all three landed practically on top of each other, with a loud "THUD!" Bars dropped around them, enclosing them in a sort of prison cell, but more like a cage, and a steel circle was dropped down onto the bars from above. They were trapped completely, with nowhere to go.

Rikku rubbed her head, a knot already forming there among her blonde locks and pouted, "Owie…"

"Shit!" Paine stood up and stomped over to the bars, clutching them between her fists, "Some mess you've got us in now, Rikku."

"Hey, it's not my fault! You didn't have to follow me," Rikku narrowed her eyes at the other girl.

"Damn it, I hate it when you're right," Paine grimaced, "And we shouldn't have followed you either. We should have just left you to save Gippal on your own."

"Well, I never said you had to. You know you could have said no," their voices began to get louder, with more anger.

"Oh, and listen to you whine and whine until my ears bleed? I don't think so!" Paine shot back, her eyes ablaze with frustration.

Rikku stood and approached Paine, "You know, you can be a real mean ass sometimes! I just _asked_ for your help, that doesn't mean you have to give it to me!"

"Girls, girls. Please, there's no need to argue. It won't get you out of your little predicament," a voice arose from the shadows, the same voice from the intercom, and footsteps sounded.

A tall, blonde man stepped out of the shadows, a menacing grin etched wide across his flawless face.

"Dreka?" Rikku breathed in disbelief.

"Ah, so good to know you remember me," Dreka's swirled green eyes glinted in the light and he smiled just enough to flash his pearly white teeth, which were sharp.

His shirt was open, revealing the same muscular chest Rikku remembered and the tattoo of the phoenix peaked out from the waist band of his pants. When he smiled like that he looked like a beast, ready to attack his prey, and Rikku couldn't help but think, he hadn't changed a bit from when she knew him those few years ago. He might be a beast, but he was a sexy beast, even though she hated to admit it to herself. She bit her lip, and walked up to the bars to get a closer look at their captor.

"Why are we here? You kidnapped Gippal, didn't you?" Rikku asked, angrily.

"Haha, why, however did you figure that one out, my love?" his grin grew smug and cocky, making Rikku's cheeks redden in anger.

She stared intently at him with the most intimidating face she could muster, "What did you do with him?"

"Oh, nothing to serious. You can even see him if you want," he stepped up to the bars, so close to Rikku that she could feel his breath on her skin, "But… you have to ask nicely."

"Can I please see Gippal?" Rikku asked through gritted teeth.

"Well, I suppose, since you asked so nicely," he chuckled evilly, "Just remember, you asked for it."

Suddenly, a light turned on, spotlighting the far wall. There Gippal hung, unconscious. He was in the crucifix position, his arms, feet, and forehead all tied to the wall, high up, out of reach. His face was bruised and bloodied and his shirt was ripped, revealing a nasty looking slice down his stomach.

"Gippal!" Rikku cried out, "What the hell have you done to him?"

"Oh, don't worry. He's not dead, just on some heavy sedatives. I don't intend on killing him until I have what I've demanded from the Machine Faction," Dreka proceeded over to the far wall and studied Gippal, hanging there helplessly.

"Let him go! He's done nothing to you!" Rikku began to sob.

"Wrong!" Dreka yelled and spun around to face her, "He did plenty to me, and he deserve to pay for it. I should just kill him now, but that would be too easy. I'd rather just ruin him."

"What did he do that was so bad?" Yuna asked, standing up from her current seat on the floor, and making her way over to the bars to join the other two girls.

He walked up to the bars and grabbed Rikku's chin, forcing him to look at her, "It had to be you that he loved. You know, he could have any other girl in the world, but he picked you. After he left to train you wouldn't even look me in the eye. You'd broken up over me, so I expected you to coming running into my arms. But no, you wouldn't turn my way, and when you did, you'd just scowl and hang your head, like _I_ had done something wrong. Like it was my fault you gave into temptation. And I knew that you thought he didn't love you anymore… and I knew that he still did. I know he told his men not to send the ransom, so, in order to change his mind, and make them send it there's only one option left."

"And what would that be?" Paine questioned with a piercing tone.

"That's quite simple," he caressed Rikku's cheek, "All I have to do is threaten to kill… you."

With those words he took Rikku's face in his hands and kissed her deeply through the bars. She struggled to pull away, and escaped his grasp, spitting in his face.

"Don't ever touch me again!" she screamed at him.

Just then, Gippal stirred and moaned, raising his head slightly.

Rikku looked up at him hopefully, "Gippal? Gippal, are you okay?"

"Rikku?" he mumbled drowsily, his eyes half closed.

"Gippal! Oh, don't worry! I'm gonna get you out of here if it's the last thing I do!" she smiled reassuringly.

"Rikku… I'm so sorry…" he whispered and slumped back down, falling into unconsciousness again.

"Oh, well wasn't that just so touching," Dreka rolled his emerald eyes and scoffed, "Well, ladies, if you'll excuse me, I must be going. I've got other business to attend to. I'll be back tomorrow when macho man's head is all cleared up, so he can comprehend my threat. Speaking of which, don't for one second doubt my sincerity in that. I may love you Rikku, but I wouldn't hesitate to kill you to get my way. Until then, sweet dreams my three little vixens."

With that, he winked and walked back into the shadows, leaving the two lights burning down on them with such intensity Rikku had to shade her eyes with her hand in order to see Gippal. Suddenly the lights dimmed, but didn't go out completely.

"Goodnight again, ladies. Pleasant dreams… oh, and don't let the bed bugs bite," Dreka's voice came lightly out of nowhere, followed by a light, evil chuckle, and then silence.

"VILG!" Rikku dropped to her knees and punched the ground hard with her fist, "It's just not fair!"

"You know, you've been saying that a lot lately," Paine pointed out.

"Well, I've been saying it with good reason, ya know?" the Al Bhed girl buried her face in her hands and sighed heavily.

"Why don't we get some rest. It's not like we can do much right now anyway, so let's just sleep on it until tomorrow," Yuna offered.

"Yea, Yunie's right… let's get some sleep," Rikku sighed and sat with her back against the bars.

Yuna curled up in a ball, and Paine stretched out with a hand behind her head, both on the far side of the "cage." Rikku knew she wasn't going to sleep tonight and all of a sudden felt a pang of de ja vu. This would be like those sleepless nights she had worrying about why Gippal didn't care about her. She knitted her brow, deep in though and sat there silently as the other two girls drifted off to sleep.

)--------------

Much later that night Rikku heard a slight stir of motion. At first she thought it was coming from one of the other girls, shifting in her sleep, but then she realized the noise was coming from the opposite side of the room. She turned around just as she heard a hushed voice call her name.

"Rikku?" Gippal whispered again and Rikku spun around on her knees to face him.

"Gippal!?" she gasped, "Are you still sedated?"

"No, I'm cool now, babe. Whatever they have me on though kicks my ass. But, forget about that, are you okay? I mean, didn't hurt you, did he?" Gippal looked down at her, concern painted all over his gorgeous face.

"Of course not. If he had, he'd be a dead man right now," Rikku smiled up at him, trying to lighten the mood.

"Ha! That's Cid's tough girl! Always thinks she can handle everything by herself," he smirked and winked at her, "So, did you get my message?"

Rikku blushed and stared down at the ground, "Yep. That's how I found you. One of the guys that took you had this tattoo and I know you said not to come looking for you but I just had to, ya know? Cause, otherwise I'd never get to tell you that…"

She hesitated, feeling the familiar tug of tears at the back of her eyes.

"Tell me what, babe?" Gippal urged her on.

"That… Gippal," she looked up at him, right in the eyes, "I… I love you too."

)--------------

AWWWW!!! . What a sweet-ass chapter! . It was a tad bit longer than the previous one. I already have an idea for the next chapter too. I was gonna end this one sooner, but then I realized, I ended the last one way too quick too, so I kept going. Hope you like muches. Reviewers are great, even if there are only a few. I'll keep going especially for the three of you who have reviewed so far. I'm dedicating this chapter to Komorli, Cella, and Master Thief, cause they were the first three to review and their reviews put a large smile on my face to know that my fic hasn't been completely forgotten. So, this chapter is for you three. Hope you enjoyed, and the same goes to everyone else who read!

MuchLove

EnaKurohoshiRaine


	15. Empty Threats

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Being Grownup

High high! Sorry this took so long but I've been having mondo problems with my comp and my boyfriend. -.-' Man, it is so sad when the most interesting thing on T.V. is golf. So, since my life is utterly and completely boring I'll probably be updating at least every other day from now on, unless something comes up, ya know? Whoa, I just had an out of body experience as Rikku. I'm getting to into her psyche with this story. Blah! Anyway… here I go again…

A/N- This chapter gets a tiny itty bitty bit bloody, but it's not bad at all… just wanted to let ya know. And for those of you who know the Rocky Horror Picture Show the line "I ask for nothing… much" was spoken in there, by Magenta. If you don't know RHPS, just forget I said anything. O.o

)--------------

Ch. 15_Empty Threats_

"Oh, so good to see you're awake," Dreka's voice boomed over the intercom once again.

"Dreka, you bastard! Let her go! This is between you and me!" Gippal's face reddened with anger.

"Au contraire, and please, calm down. See, you don't understand exactly how dire your situation is. You've told your men not to worry about the ransom and I just don't appreciate that. You're taking from me, for the second time, the only thing that matters to me in the world," Dreka said with a voice full of faux sorrow.

"You're asking for what we don't have. If we gave you even most of what you want we'd be ruined!" Gippal struggled against his restraints.

"That's exactly the point. So, in order for you to change your mind," he paused for a second, "Men, remove the blonde girl and bring her to me."

Just then, two guards rushed out of the shadows and one of the bars on the "cage" flew up, leaving just enough space for Rikku to fit through. They seized her by her arms and cuffed her, just as Paine and Yuna sprang up, bolting to the opening. The bar slammed back down into place just before they could reach them.

"Rikku!" Yuna cried out.

"Don't worry about me Yunie, I'll be fine," Rikku said with a meek reassuring smile.

Dreka stepped out of the shadows again and grabbed Rikku by the arm and forced her to her knees. He pulled a blade from a sheath on his back and placed it on her throat, right at her jugular vein.

"You tell your men to send that ransom, or I will ruin not just your Faction, but your whole life as well," Dreka grinned evilly and pressed the blade harder against her throat, slicing the skin open a little.

Rikku let out a yelp as a drop of crimson blood slid from her neck down her chest, staining her yellow top, "Oh, man. I just got this top and blood doesn't come out! You're gonna pay for that you meanie!"

"Shut up!" Dreka said and pressed the blade dangerously close to her artery, one slight movement and the walls would be covered with her blood.

"Alright, what do you want? I'll do anything, just please don't hurt her," Gippal pleaded.

Dreka smirked, his pearly teeth gleaming in the dim light, "I ask for nothing… much. Just that you send another message to your Faction telling them to hand over everything I asked for. ALL my demands must be met or the little blonde strumpet… _dies_."

He slid the blade up Rikku's throat, not cutting, but getting precariously close to it.

"Alright! ALRIGHT!" Gippal shouted, "Just STOP! Let her go!"

"Let her go?" Dreka asked, appalled, "She's not going anywhere until I get what I want. And even then I might decided I don't want to let her go."

He pulled Rikku to a standing position by her hair and lowered his face down to her scalp, breathing in her scent. Rikku took this moment to sling her arms back, knocking him square in the face with the large metal handcuffs they'd adorned her with. He stumbled backwards and she was free from his grasp as she smacked him across the face once again with the handcuffs. The guards lunged at her. She took one out with a swift kick to the gut, and the other she knocked out with those big trusty handcuffs.

Dreka shook his head, trying to clear his blurry vision and called into the air for more guards. Rikku took them out one by one until several advanced on her at once and she was outnumbered. They dragged her back to the cage, kicking and screaming. Yuna and Paine made an effort to flee their prison, but were promptly knocked backwards against the bars. All Rikku remembered after that was falling to her knees, looking towards her two friends, then there was a sharp blow to her head, and everything went dark.

)--------------

When Rikku finally awoke she opened her eyes slowly, squeezing them shut a couple of times to get them adjusted to the bright light. She spotted Paine slumped against the opposite side of the cage and Yuna, laying sprawled out in the middle. Rikku crawled over on her knees to where Yuna was and shook her lightly.

"Yunie, wake up," Rikku whispered, "Are you okay? Wake up."

There was no answer from her cousin, but Paine's head slowly rose up.

"There's no use trying to wake her right now," Paine said weakly, "After they knocked you out she went crazy, beating against the bars, so they shot her with a tranquilizer. She'll be out cold for a while now."

"Oh, Yunie," Rikku moved a piece of hair that had fallen in Yuna's face, "I'm so sorry I got you into this."

Just then footsteps sounded out side the cage and Dreka's voice called out, "Get him down and bring him to me. Get the blonde girl too."

Three guards made their way over to the bars again, one bar lifting up, just as before. One guard stood poised with a gun pointed toward Paine.

"Don't try anything funny," he snarled as he cocked the gun.

"Fuck you!" she shouted back, her eyes glinting with rage.

"Watch your mouth, prisoner," he said and kicked the bars as the other two lead Rikku away in handcuffs.

They drug her to a wall and the one with the gun pressed his hand to the wall, causing a passage way to open. Rikku struggled against their grasp, almost getting free once more before everything went black again.

)--------------

OOOOO Cliffhanger! Dun dun duuuun!!! I know, I am a horrible, horrible person because not only was this long in coming out it was short as well, but I am suffering from a severe case of the deadly disease of writers block, which has been known to kill creativity instantly. So, I give you this chapter in hope that I can come out with another one soon, VERY soon. Sorry for the delay and the shortness. A thousand apologies. bows Buh bye for now. .

EnaKurohoshiRaine


	16. A Violent Coup

**O... M... G...** So, how many years has it been? No, stop right there... I don't even want to think about it. Let's pretend it was all a horrible dream and we will never speak of it again. Let's just pick up where we left off like nothing ever happened, shall we? I just... I can't stand to leave things unfinished. It's been plaguing me forever that I never finished writing this story. So much has happened over the past few years, all my writing-ness just went POOF! And vanished. But I am back, and with a vengeance that will undoubtedly allow/assist me to/with finishing this long-neglected story. I realize probably none of the people that once read this are still lurking the site like I am, but there are new readers to corrupt, amiright? ^-^ *winky wink* So to anyone who might, by the grace of the fanfiction gods, revisit this story, and to those who will just now be discovering it thanks to my long awaited (if only by me) update, I sincerely hope you enjoy the ending, which will hopefully be just a few chapters from now. Much love, and as always... Rock on!

Ch. 16 _A Violent Coup_

Paine sat, impatiently drumming her fingers on the hard, cold concrete, waiting for the petite brunette sprawled out in front of her to awake. She saw the girl's body shift slightly, and heard a soft moan escape her.

"Yuna?" she lunged towards the girl, "Wake up."

Yuna lifted her head slightly, her eyes squinting against the bright lights surrounding them, "What happened?"

"They gave you a sedative, and they took Rikku," she offered a hand to help the other girl up.

They sat a short distance from each other in silence for a while, their hearts heavy with worry, and Yuna's head still foggy from the drugs.

"Did they say where they were taking her?" Yuna asked to break the long respite, already knowing the answer.

"No..." Paine's brow furrowed in frustration, "Damnit, if they hadn't taken all of our stuff we could blast the hell out of here."

She stood up suddenly and began to pace in a circle around the cage.

"Oh, Paine, I feel so bad..." Yuna hid her face in her hands and rested her elbows on her knees.

"Don't worry, the effects will wear off soon and you'll be back to normal," the silver-haired girl assured her.

"No, it's not that... It's... Rikku... I just feel like I've been so dismissive with her lately. When she tried to bring me along to meet up with you... I almost didn't come...," her voice was full of regret, "She... she was starting to get on my nerves, always being around and... I thought I wanted her to just go away, but now... I... oh... Paine... what if something happens to her? What are we going to do?"

Paine didn't know what to say, so she decided on silence and a comforting arm around the now sobbing girl's shoulders. She pulled her in closer. Her head began to swim with her own regrets of the way she'd shunned and mistreated Rikku. To her, in the past, it had all been in good fun, but, upon recalling the past few months they had spent together, it seemed her memories picked up on things her then-self had not. The fake air to Rikku's laughter at Paine's stabs towards her so-called "immaturity", the way she was constantly rolling her eyes at and trying to stifle the little isms that made the blonde such a comic relief to their dramatic life style.

With all those unexpected realizations, plus the feeling of utter helplessness, all piled on top of the thought of Rikku's impending doom, there wasn't any use fighting her feeling, as uncharacteristic tears plopped heavily into brunette hair.

_)-

Rikku's awakening was more than a little rude. Her eyes fluttered open violently, and she was doused with ice cold water, followed by a stinging smack to the jaw.

"Owie! Fryd dya ramm fyc dryd vun?!" Rikku raged, as she blinked furiously, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the light.

((What the hell was that for?!))

"Oh, good, you're awake," came the familiar, not-so-comforting voice of Dreka, "and please, love, do refrain from using the language of your people in my presence... it sounds so _common_."

The blonde's eyes widened incredulously, "They're _your_ people too!"

"Ugh, don't remind me," Dreka made a disgusted sound, and took a few steps towards her, "Mmm, it's so good to have you near me again, my pet. And in such a... _vulnerable_ position."

A menacing laugh escaped the brute, as Rikku felt the bile rise in her throat.

"You're disgusting," she spat, lunging forward, threateningly.

It was then she realized she was restrained, her legs, arms, and shouldered strapped tightly to a cold metal chair. Her eyes darted around, surveying her surroundings. Gippal was there, as well, directly in front of her, tied to a twin chair. He was still out of it, but was coming to slowly, his head rolling from side to side, moaning lightly.

"_Don't_ hurt him, Dreka, _please_! I'll do anything you want. I'll stay with you. I'll get Gippal to order his troops to give you whatever you want, just PLEASE don't hurt him," she looked the looming figure directly in the face, pleading as much with her eyes as with her words.

"Oh, my dear, sweet, fiend-ling... If only you knew how much I -" his eyes had softened but he cut his words short, with a dry cough, his face hardening once more, "No... no, my pet, you needn't worry. It's not him that I plan to hurt... it's you."

Rikku squinted at him, angrily, bearing all the weight of her arms against her restraints, willing them to snap so she could end this mad-man once and for all.

"As a matter of fact, dearest," he leaned down to her level, his face inches from her's, "I'll let you in on a personal secret before lover boy interrupts our little interlude. Care to hear?"

"I'm all ears," she snarled, through gritted teeth.

"I plan to _kill_ you."

_)-

Paine's head shot up, suddenly, taking Yuna by surprise.

"I've got a plan," she whispered to the other girl, after checking to assure the guards were paying them no mind.

"What? What is it?!" the summoner perked up from her lull, pumped with adrenaline at her friends' revelation.

"Alright, listen up," she pulled the girl closer and proceeded to whisper the brilliant plot into an anxious ear.

A few minutes later, Paine doubled over in convulsions. She hacked and spit, hardly able to breath, clinging to the bars of the cell for dear life.

"Hey, Paine, are you alright?" Yuna inquired, not seeming quite as concerned as she really should.

"Ge-get... a... gh-gua-rd," she wheezed, loudly.

At the sound of all the commotion, the guards took notice, but didn't seem too enthralled at responding to the matter.

"Whas-all that abou'?" the bigger, gruffer guard raised a bushy eyebrow.

"Look's like one-a 'em gals is 'avin' a conniption," the thinner one observed, brainlessly.

"Um, excuse me, guys, could one of you help my friend, please?" Yuna pressed against the bars, smiling prettily.

"You take care-a dis, Timbo, I ain't got tha time-a day. I got shit ta do," the fat one nudged the skinny one harshly, and made his leave from the room.

"Ahh... a'right," he sauntered, nonchalantly, over to the cage, "Wha' seems-a be tha problem 'ere?"

Yuna batted her eyes, endearingly, "Well, I don't know, sir, something is wrong with my friend here. She seems to be in a lot of pain. Do you think maybe you could get her a glass of water or something?"

The guard seemed to be enchanted by the beautiful summoner, "I'll see wha' I can do lovey."

He gave a sheepish grin, and daftly turned his back to the bars of the cage. As quickly he did, Paine sprung into action. She grabbed the cloth at the nape of his neck and jerked him back, his skull cracking loudly against the thick metal bars. He let out a loud cry and went to ready his weapon, but he was too late. Paine already had masterfully loosed it from it's holster and had it squared up with the back of his head.

"Oh, naw, lovey, come on now," the twig of a man whimpered, "Don't do nothin' stupid, Ol' Timbo was jus' tryin-a help."

"You can help even more by letting us out of here," Paine growled.

"Or wha'? Ya gonna kill me? Then how'a ya gonna get out? You kill me, tha boss's bound ta kill you, he 'ates ta loose a good man," this sniveling was really getting on Paine's last nerve.

"You think I care? He'll kill us anyway if we don't get out. This way, at least I get the satisfaction of ending your miserable existence. Or, you could let us out and possibly live through this," she cocked an eyebrow, and hoped she was being as convincing as she felt.

"Fine, but the button's ova' there. Ya gotta let me go first," he pointed in the direction of an exposed panel of levers and switches.

"Okay, but no funny business. I'm an excellent shot, even when it comes to pin-heads," she pushed him away, roughly.

He slinked over to the panel, her eyes and the gun trained on him the entire time. He pushed a button and two bars across from them shot up, granting them freedom. The man made a move to bolt, but Paine was too quick for him. She shot across the room, planting the butt of the gun into the back of his head, and he crumpled pitifully to the floor.

I realize I probably didn't used exactly the same format for this chapter, but I think I've still got a decent knack for staying true to the characters, especially after being out of it for so long. Plus, I tried to correct some plot-holes, like why they didn't have their weapons and magic and whatnot. Also, hey... Paine butt-kicking action, FTW! With more action to come, since, luck yous guys, I actually KNOW how I'm going to end this story now! Weeeeeee! Okay, that's all my rambling for now. Sorry, I just had a lot to catch up on. A/Ns will be much shorter from now on, honestly!


	17. For The Love Of Rikku

Yay, another chapter already! I'm anxious to get this done, since I was so close to the end when I stopped. This is probably the second to last chapter. There may be an epilogue, depending on how long the next chapter is, but we shall see. Happy reading, everyone! :)

* * *

Gippal's head finally raised, his weak eyes lulling open and closed slowly, "Wha... what happened?"

"Oh, splendid! You've joined us just in time," Dreka mused with synthetic glee.

The darkly-robed monster turned on his heels, and staked towards Rikku, taking his place behind her chair. He placed his rough, rigid hands on the small girl's shoulders, giving her an aggressive squeeze that made her yelp.

The Captain's eyes shot open at the sound, "Rikku! Hey, leave her alone!"

Dreka chuckled evilly, "You would like that, wouldn't you. It's just so paradoxical, isn't it? We were once such good friends, Gippal. And us... such good lovers."

He leaned down to Rikku's level, nuzzling his face uncomfortably into hers. She struggled away from him, and Gippal let out a violent growl, wrenching and twisting against his restraints. With one fell swoop, Dreka brandished a long, sharp blade and drug it across Rikku's flushed cheek. The cut was shallow, but a line of crimson swelled to the surface.

Gippal's growl turned into a bellow of rage, "STOP! Get _off_ her!"

"This is just the begging, old friend," Dreka smirked, amusedly, "I'm only... _scratching the surface_, if you will."

"Look, I'll give you anything you want. Machina, Gil, my faction, my life, whatever it is, I'll find a way to get it to you. Just, LET HER GO!" Gippal's face reddened with frustration.

"If only it were so easy to sate my desires," the beast sighed, "Alas, once I had this beautiful strumpet in my grasp, I realized my need for material possessions was a frivolous one."

"Then what do you _want_?" Gippal pleaded.

"It's obvious all he cares about is being a big meanie-head," Rikku smarted off, having fought too long to keep her mouth shut.

Dreka circled her neck with his arm, yanking her head back and choking her slightly, "As much of a smart ass as ever. You'd do well to keep your opinions to yourself, little one."

He brought the blade back up with his free hand and sliced her across the shoulder, a much deeper gash than the one inflicted on her face.

"What I want," Dreka continued, "Is to see you both suffer, as I have suffered. As for you, my pet, I want you to feel the _pain_ that you made me feel. And you, my old aquaintence, I want you to feel the _loss_."

He brought the blade up and thrusted it deeply into Rikku's abdomen. The girl screamed in pain. Gippal mustered all the strength he could and lunged violently against the ties that bound him, snarling and roaring in his outrage. It was no use, the restraints were too steadfast.

"Rikku! Rikku!" Gippal shouted, "Dreka, you bastard!"

"Oh, please, calm yourself," Dreka rolled his eyes and stood tall, "She won't die from that. But she will be in quite some pain until I do kill her."

"She doesn't deserve this," the Captain insisted vehemently.

"She deserves all the pain I can inflict upon her!" Dreka bellowed, "And you don't deserve _her_!"

Dreka charged towards him and delivered a hard back-handed smack to his face.

Gippal spit, blood dripping down the corner of his lips, "Don't you think I know that?! Don't you know that that's been what's soldiered through my mind all these years since she chose _you_ over _me_?"

Dreka's hand slammed into his jaw once again, "She didn't _choose me_, you imbecile! She would have _nothing_ to do with me after you left! Ahhhh! This conversation is _trifling_! I'm done with it! The violence is so much more **_fun_**!"

With that, he spun around and buried his blade in Rikku's slumped shoulder, drawing a piercing scream from her almost unconscious form.

* * *

Paine and Yuna rushed through the halls, following the noises that echoed through the corridors. At every scream and raised voice, the pair picked up their pace. The loudest shriek of all flooded the walls, and Yuna screeched to a halt.

"That was Rikku! He's hurting her!" the brunette's hands shot to her mouth in shock.

"Stopping isn't doing her and good, Yuna!" Paine growled, grabbing the girl's slender wrist and yanking her forward, "We've got no time to lose!"

Their feet carried them swiftly and they finally found their way to the door outside of Dreka's makeshift torture chamber. They stopped in their tracks, and Paine approached the door slowly, inching it open so she could peek through. She pulled back from the sight, leaning flush with the wall, her head back and eyes wide.

"What is it?" Yuna whispered as quietly as she could.

"I... I don't know. Rikku is hurt, it looks like she's unconscious," Paine grimaced, "There's so much blood, Yuna."

Yuna gasped, quickly taking Paine's place at the slit in the door. When she saw the gruesome scene, she turned back to her friend.

"What do we do?" she panicked.

Paine clenched the firearm close to her body, "We wait for an opening, I take a shot, and we pray I don't miss."

Yuna nodded her consent, moving aside so Paine could position herself and the gun between the small opening.

"When I give the word, swing the door open," the warrior narrowed her eyes on her target.

She waited with the patience of a saint, for Dreka to leave his stooped position, hovering over Gippal. From their spot, they could clearly hear the conversation taking place inside.

"Just tell me why you're doing this," Gippal demanded, breathlessly, "What good does all this do?"

"Good? Ha! You think I care about goodness?" Dreka scoffed, but then hung his head, "I'll admit, there was a time I cared more than now, but she _changed_ that! Because of her, I became bitter, sardonic. All I felt was wrath and a thirst for revenge. I became a villain of sorts, a heartless reprobate and rebel. That was _not_ who I used to be, so I began to hate myself. I'd had dreams of being a respected Captain, loved and admired by my comrades. But instead, I am feared. However, one day, not so long ago, everything became clear. The hatred I inflicted upon myself, my men, my wayward clients... it deserved a more worthy victim. The cause of all my dismay. Her! You! If I could get the revenge I so desperately longed for, maybe I could reclaim the person I once was."

"You're fooling yourself, Dreka," Gippal shook his head, appalled, "You've always been an evil bastard, you were just able to hide it better when we were younger. And killing her won't change that."

"I am so _sick_ of your arrogance! I think I'll just kill you both, and be done with it!" Dreka shot up and brandished his blade in Gippal's face.

Just then, there was a loud crash and a shot rang out through the air. Dreka spun and was caught in the shoulder by a bullet. Another quick shot caught him in the side, and he doubled over, the last shot barely missing his head.

"Damnit!" Paine cursed her shaky hands, but rushed into the room.

Dreka was too fast for her, though, for by the time she reached them, he had Rikku by the throat, the blade ready to slice her open at an instant.

"Stay back and drop your weapon," Dreka threatened.

"In your dreams, you sick bastard," the warrior tightened her grip on her weapon.

"I would acquiesce, if I were you! It would do me no greater pleasure than to end your little blonde friends ineffectual life!"

"Back off!" Paine demanded, icily, "I could pierce you square between the eyes before you had a sliver of a chance."

"By the way your hands are shaking, I would not be so confident if I were you," the monster raised a condescending eyebrow.

Paine inched to the side, keeping her eye trained down the sight of her gun.

"Spot where you are! Not another step, or she dies!" Dreka shouted, his steely gaze piercing the ruby orbs of the warrior.

Suddenly, his eyes shot open, and his grip on the blade loosened, sending it clattering to the floor. He coughed and sputtered, taking an unsteady step backward. He gripped his stomach and felt the point of a blade protruding there. He fell to his knees, Yuna looming over him, triumphantly.

Paine smirked, and lowered her weapon, "Good job, Yuna."

"You too," she gave a thumbs up, "He never saw it coming."

"Paine, finish him off! We've got to get Rikku out of here," Gippal commanded, forcefully.

"Right!" Paine nodded stiffly, "Yuna, take a look around and see if you can find our supplies."

Yuna shot off to search, as Paine stalked purposefully towards the fallen malefactor. She planted a foot into his shoulder, and pushed him to the ground. His eyes rolled helplessly around in their sockets and his mouth gaped, gasping for breath.

"I-" he choked on his own blood, as the life drained from his being, "I just... wanted her to love me."

"You're pathetic," Paine spit, hastily delivering a killing blow to his cranium.

* * *

So, this didn't exactly end where I wanted it to, but I wanted to get it up and finished before I had to leave for my friend's house this afternoon. Hopefully, I'll get the (probably) last chapter up either tonight or tomorrow. Yes, I realize there may be plot holes, but I don't care, I'm just glad to have this up and running again. Also, I got a comment on the sister story to this one, _The End, With You_, about the part of the story line involving the villain lacking depth, and I have to say, upon re-reading several times over, that I totally agree! So, I decided to give Dreka a little more substance and face time. It's probably not as much as I could have, still, but I wanted this to be as easy of a read as my first story, to avoid droning on and on (like I am in this author's note, lol). So, anywayzzz... See you next chapter, hopefully! ((Hey, before you go... Umm, review, maybe? I haven't gotten one in soooo long, it'd be quite nice. ^-^)) Thanks for reading, and as always... ROCK ON!

~*~Ena~*~


	18. Gonna Make It After All

FINAL CHAPTERRRRR! I had a hard time with this, 'cause I knew how I wanted it to end, but... well, I dunno... it was just hard. It didn't turn out quite the way I'd hoped, but it's all good. It's finished, and that's all that matters! Riiight? Surrrre... ^-^ So, anyways, here ya go! Enjoy.

* * *

Paine undid the last of Gippal's restraints, and he shot out of the chair, pushing past her, to kneel in front of Rikku.

"Rikku, babe, wake up," he struggled with the ties binding her wrists, "Come on, kiddo, shake it off."

"I found them!" came Yuna's voice from the corner of the room.

She jogged back and handed Paine her supplies. They readied themselves for the immanent battle they were sure to endure upon their escape. Gippal untied the final harness around Rikku's shoulders and she slumped forward, lifelessly.

He took her face in his hand, "Hey. Hey, kiddo, snap out of it, I know there's still some life in there. Now, show me those beautiful eyes."

"There's no time for this, Gippal!" Paine shouted, impatiently.

"Here, I'll handle this," Yuna came forward, and placed an assuring hand on Gippal's shoulder.

He moved aside and let her work her healing magic. When she was done, Rikku's wounds had closed themselves, but there was still a nasty scar at the top of her abdomen, where Dreka's blade had pierced most deeply. The blonde groaned deeply, and brought her hands to her face to rub her eyes.

"Rikku?" Gippal inquired, returning to his previous position, "You okay, kiddo?"

She raised her head slowly, and looked into his eyes, her's lighting up like a candle at the realization that he was alive and free, "Gippal!"

She lunged forward, throwing her arms around his neck, and knocking them both backwards onto the floor.

The Captain gave a loud chuckle, "Good to see you're back to your old self."

"Oh, Gippal!" she barraged him with a series of light, quick kisses all over his face, "I can't believe we actually saved you!"

"Um... I believe it's us that saved the both of you, actually," Paine cocked her head to the side, haughtily.

All of a sudden they could hear the footfalls of a slew of guards rushing through the halls outside the door.

"Ugh, I told you we needed to get out of here!" the warrior girl growled.

"Oh, come on, we're just now getting to your favorite part," Gippal joked, as he hopped up, and assisted Rikku to her feet.

"You got me," Paine admitted, as the guards burst in.

"They killed Master Dreka!" one guard informed the rest, "Get 'em!"

They were on the guards in half a second. With the combined skills of the four of them, it took no time before their assailants were all haphazardly piled on top of one another in a bruised and bloodied pile. The group dashed out of the room, navigating through corridors and doorways, fighting off whatever guards they came in contact with along the way. They ran and ran until they were sure they were lost.

Suddenly, out from a dark alcove, slipped Timbo, the guard Paine had outwitted earlier. His eyes bulged when he realized what he'd run into.

"You, again! Aww, 'ell!" he cursed, "Yer lost, ain't ya? Well, follow me, then."

"Why should we trust you?" Gippal inquired, suspiciously.

" 'Ell, I ain't ne'er believed in bein' scared straight, 'afore, but yer pretty lil grey haired friend... 'ell, le's jus' say, she knocked some sense into me," he nodded his respect in Paine's direction.

"Paine?" Gippal looked to her for reassurance.

"What choice do we have?" she shrugged, "We'll give it a shot."

They took the chance, and followed close behind Timbo. He lead them quickly down the corridors, avoiding the other guards, until they finally found themselves at the exit.

"Well, this is where we say our g'byes, folks," the guard pushed a button beside the panel and the bright sunshine of Luca permeated the hideout.

"Much appreciated, soldier," Paine gave him a quick salute, as the group exited the building.

"Don' mention it. Once the others realize that the boss's been... er... compromised, they'll be so busy partyin' they'll forget all about ya," Timbo gave a knowing wink, and returned the salute, as he closed the door behind them.

* * *

Rikku wouldn't slow her pace until they were safely back aboard the airship, the rest of the group having no choice but to simply keep up. Once there, she stopped, hands on her knees, struggling to catch her breath.

Paine wiped a trickle of sweat from her brow, "You know, that was totally unnecessary. We were out of harm's way once those doors were closed."

"I'd rather not have taken the chance," Rikku stood straight and crossed her arms, "Better to be totally safe, than sorry."

"Well, how very _mature_ of you," Paine smirked, and Rikku's face lit up at the comment.

"Ya think so?"

"I definitely think so," Gippal came forward, stepping close to the blonde girl, "Hey, can we talk for a minute?"

Rikku nodded, trying to hide the smile edging it's way across her face. She followed him as he led her into a nearby room and shut the door behind them. They turned towards each other and he let out a light chuckle. Rikku raised a questioning eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"We've got matching scars," he pulled his tattered shirt aside, exposing the dark scar from the wound Yuna had healed earlier, as well as his nicely toned abs, which Rikku couldn't help but notice.

She felt her face redden. He dropped his shirt and brought his hand down to the spot on her abdomen. He traced the place lightly with his finger, a smaller scar, but similar in shape. Her stomach jumped at the gentle caress, and her blush deepened. He pulled his hand back, suddenly shy.

"Uh... heh... Anyway," he scratched the back of his head nervously, "I guess all I wanted to say was... um..."

Rikku waited quietly for him to continue.

"Wow, you're quiet," he smirked at her and crossed his arms, bringing on foot up beside his knee, balancing there in his signature stance, "Usually you'd have burst into some kind of spill by now about kittens or rainbows or some other adorable nonsense."

She just shrugged, "I guess I've grown up a little bit in the past week."

His face dropped sadly, and he took a step towards her, "Look, Rikku... I'm gonna be honest. And you know, that's something I rarely do..."

She scoffed, "Yea, you don't have to tell me, tough guy."

He grinned, gazing adoringly into her eyes, "I don't want you to change, Rikku. Hell, you're the goofiest, sweetest, most hyper girl in all of Spira. It's what makes you so... uh... heh..." he stammered, searching for the right word.

She started in before he could finish, "You don't have to worry, Gippal. I haven't changed. I don't plan on it. I like who I am, and I think that's really what I meant when I said I'd grown up. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks, being who I am makes me happy, so why in the world would I change anything? I've accepted myself, finally. Besides, this immature _'kiddo'_ saved your life, so maybe you'll start giving me a little more credit?"

She gave him a playful jab in the ribs, and he caught her arm, pulling her towards him.

"You're damn right I will," he lowered his face to within inches of hers, "I'll give you more than just credit."

"Oh yea?" she smirked, and crinkled her nose, "Like what?"

"Like this."

He crushed his lips to hers, wrapping his arms around her delicate form, pulling her in as close as possible. She snaked her own arms around his back, running one hand through his silky, golden hair. They stayed like that for only a moment, before Gippal pulled back.

"I was serious, you know. I didn't just say all that stuff because I thought I was a goner," she'd never seen his face look so serious.

"What stuff?" she questioned, knowingly.

"Come on, you know what I mean," he rolled his eyes in mock frustration.

She giggled and continued to tease him, "No, really, I don't think I quite remember."

He scooped her face up in his hands and planted another deep kiss on her waiting lips, then pulled back, his forehead leaned against hers.

"I love you," he kissed her once more, then added, with a smug grin, "kiddo..."

Her face scrunch in annoyance, "Ooooh, you big meanie! You just can't be nice for two minutes, can you? I swear, I don't know why I even like you, you are so mean!"

She had begun to hop up and down in her frustration at him, balling her fists and pounding the floor with her feet. He let out a boisterous laugh, then scooped her up into the air. She struggled and smacked at his shoulders, but when he only continued to chuckle, she stopped, defeated.

"That's the girl I fell for!" He lowered her slightly, so they were face to face, but left her feet dangling a few inches from the ground, "Glad to see you've got your spark back."

She folded her arms, and pouted, "Big meanie..."

"I love you, Rikku," he said, pointedly.

Her pout melted into a wide smile, and she leaned down to touch her forhead to his, "I love you, too, Gippal."

"So, does this mean we get to live happily ever after?" he chuckled again.

"I sure hope so," she sighed dreamily, and assailed him once more with a barrage of kisses.

* * *

That's all folks! There might possibly be an epilogue, but I'm not promising anything. Until we meet again, beautiful readers! And, as always, ROCK ON!

~*~Ena~*~


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